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RICHARD  HENRY  DANA 


A    BIOGRAPHY 


BY 


CHARLES    FRANCIS   ADAMS 

H 


IN  TWO   VOLUMES 
VOL.  I. 


SMKsuSMHa 


BOSTON    AND    NEW    YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN   AND   COMPANY 

£k  llitoiTsiDe  press,  Cmnbrt&ae 
1890 


A*- 


JJ/A 


Copyright,  1890, 
By  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS. 

All  rights  reserved. 

% i  to  i 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 
Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  H.  0.  Houghton  &  Company. 


To 

2Dtje  $paS0ac&u0ett0  historical  $>ocietp, 

AT   WHOSE   BEHEST 

THE   MEMOIR,   OUT  OF   WHICH   GREW  THIS  LIFE 

OF   ONE    OF  ITS   MORE 

DISTINGUISHED  MEMBERS, 

WAS  ORIGINALLY  UNDERTAKEN. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.   I. 


CHAPTER  PAGB 

I.  School-days  and  Voyage  to  California     ....  1 

II.  Entrance  into  Active  Life 18 

III.  Early  Life  at  the  Bar 42 

IV.  Washington  Allston 71 

V.  Vacation  Rambles.  —  Isles  of  Shoals 84 

VI.  Weir,  Macready,  Judge  Story,  Horace  Mann  .     .  102 
VII.  Politics.  —  The  Free  Soil  Movement  of  1848,  and 

the  Buffalo  Convention 121 

VIII.   The  Adirondacks  and  John  Brown 145 

^   IX.   Free  Soil  Politics 165 

X.  The  Fugitive  Slave  Cases  of  1851 178 

XI.  Vacation  Rambles.  —  A  Moose  Hunt  ......  202 

XII.   Law  and  Politics.  —  The  Burial  of  Webster     .    .  208 

XIII.  The  Massachusetts  Constitutional  Convention  of 

1853 233 

XIV.  The  Rendition  of  Anthony  Burns 262 

XV.  The  Marshal's  Guard 296 

XVI.   The    Coast    of    Maine.  —  Commissioner  Loring.  — 
Rachel.  —  Rufus    Choate.  —  Judge    Woodbury 
Davis.  —  Judge  Shaw.  —  Eliza  Wharton  .    .    .  331 
XVII.  The  First  Glimpse  of  Europe 357 


tot; 


RICHARD  HENRY  DANA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SCHOOL-DAYS   AND    VOYAGE    TO    CALIFORNIA. 

Richard  Henry  Dana,  the  younger  of  the  name,  was 
born  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  on  the  first  day  of  Au- 
gust, 1815.  He  came  from  an  old  Massachusetts  stock, 
long  resident  in  the  town  of  his  birth,  the  early  records  of 
which  contain  mention  of  a  Richard  Dana  in  1640,  though 
how  long  he  had  then  been  in  the  country,  or  whence  or 
why  he  came,  does  not  appear.  It  has  always  been  the 
family  tradition  that  this  first  Richard  was  of  French  de- 
scent, and  it  is  still  thought  probable  that  his  ancestors  were 
French  Vaudois  dwelling  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont,  where 
Danas  are  still  found  whose  families  can  be  traced  back  for 
centuries,  and  whence  other  Danas  may  well  have  been  driven 
by  those  religious  persecutions  of  which  that  region  was  the 
frequent  scene.  Whether  of  Italian  or  English,  and  re- 
motely, perhaps,  as  the  name  might  seem  to  imply,  of  Scan- 
dinavian origin,  the  first  Richard  had  a  grandson  of  the 
same  name  who  was  in  his  time  (1700-1772)  a  prominent 
lawyer,  and  in  his  latter  years  an  active  patriot,  though 
he  died  before  the  revolutionary  troubles  culminated.  He 
married  (1737)  a  sister  of  Edmund  Trowbridge,  the  emi- 
nent colonial  judge,  and  by  her,  in  1743,  had  a  son,  Fran- 
cis, who  was  a  delegate  in  1777-9  and  ?84  from  Massachu- 
setts to  the  Continental  Congress,  and  was  appointed  by  it 
in  1780  the  first  American  Minister  to  the  Court  of  Russia. 


2  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  7. 

Afterwards  he  held  a  succession  of  honorable  offices,  and 
in  1785  was  appointed  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Massachusetts.  He  was  made  chief  justice  in  1791,  and 
held  that  position  until  he  retired  in  1806,  being  succeeded 
by  Theophilus  Parsons.  Francis  Dana  married  (1773) 
Elizabeth  Ellery,  a  daughter  of  William  Ellery  of  Newport, 
Rhode  Island,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, by  whom  he  had  seven  children,  one  of  whom, 
Martha  Remington  (1784)  married  (1830)  Washington 
Allston.  The  child  next  in  age  to  Martha,  Richard  Henry, 
the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  born  in  1787, 
and,  living  well  into  his  ninety-second  year,  is  still  remem- 
bered as  a  poet  and  essayist.  He  married  Ruth  Charlotte, 
a  daughter  of  John  Wilson  Smith  of  Taunton,  who,  dying 
in  1822,  left  four  children,  the  eldest  boy,  called  after  his 
father,  being  then  not  yet  seven  years  of  age. 

The  year  following  his  mother's  death  the  child  Richard 
passed  out  of  the  care  of  his  aunts  and  began  his  school-life, 
of  which  his  subsequent  recollections  were  far  from  pleas- 
ant. His  first  master  was  Samuel  Barrett,  "a  thin,  dark- 
complexioned,  dark-haired,  and  dark-eyed  man,  with  a  very 
austere  look."  The  school,  situated  in  Cambridgeport,  was 
kept  in  "  a  long,  low,  dark  room,  with  wooden  benches  well 
cut  up,  walls  nearly  black,  and  a  close,  hot  atmosphere." 
The  discipline  of  the  olden  time  prevailed.  Each  misde- 
meanor was  noted  down  at  the  instant,  and  flogging  was  the 
punishment  for  every  offence.  "  When  the  time  came  for 
dismissing  school,  the  books  were  put  away,  the  names  of 
all  the  delinquents  called  over,  the  chest  unlocked,  and  the 
long  pine  ferule  produced.  How  often  did  our  hearts  sicken 
at  the  sight  of  that  chest  and  that  ferule  !  The  boys  were 
then  called  out,  one  at  a  time,  and  the  blows  given  upon 
the  flat  of  their  hands,  from  two  or  four  up  to  one  or  two 
dozen,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  offence  and  the  size  of 
the  boys.  A  few  of  the  older  boys  never  cried,  but  only 
changed  color  violently  as  the  blows  fell ;  but  the  other  boys 
always  cried  and  some  lustily  and  with  good  reason." 


1822.  SCHOOL-DA  YS.  3 

It  was  during  this  period  of  early  school-days  that  Oli- 
ver Wendell  Holmes  long  afterwards,  on  seconding  the 
resolutions  offered  in  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society 
when  Dana's  death  was  announced,  recalled  him  *'  as  a 
little,  rosy-faced,  sturdy  boy,  piloting  an  atom  of  a  lesser 
brother,  Edmund,  to  and  from  the  school-house."  Dr. 
Holmes  then  also  referred  to  one  other  incident  as  coming 
back  to  him  with  painful  distinctness,  —  a  case  of  punish- 
ment for  some  slight  offence  "  accidentally  aggravated  so  as 
to  be  a  temporary  injury  and  give  the  impression  of  cruel 
maltreatment,  such  as  was  remote  from  the  master's  inten- 
tion." Even  after  he  grew  to  man's  estate,  Dana  was  un- 
able to  take  so  charitable  a  view  of  this  incident,  which  now 
has  a  certain  value  as  illustrating  the  pre-kindergarten 
methods  of  New  England.  One  of  the  modes  of  punish- 
ment in  vogue  at  the  Cambridgeport  school  was  dragging 
the  boys  about  by  their  ears,  "  across  the  school-room  and 
over  the  benches."  One  day  as  Richard  Dana,  a  little 
urchin  not  yet  eight,  was  standing  up  in  the  class  reciting, 
another  boy  made  him  laugh.  He  was  duly  rebuked,  but 
could  not  control  himself,  and  his  ear  was  pulled  pretty 
severely.  This  sobered  him  for  a  moment,  but  presently  he 
was  made  to  laugh  again,  and  the  provoked  master  took 
him  by  the  ear  and  dragged  him  across  the  room  to  his 
seat.  His  boy  tormentor  still  would  not  leave  him  alone, 
and  partly  out  of  bravado  and  partly  because  he  could  not 
help  it,  the  child  before  long  was  once  more  laughing.  The 
now  thoroughly  enraged  instructor  seized  him  by  one  ear 
and  dragged  him  over  the  bench  on  which  he  was  sitting 
and  back  again.  Some  hours  later,  when  school  was  dis- 
missed, the  other  scholars  saw  that  little  Richard's  ear  was 
bloody  and  the  skin  connecting  it  with  the  head  torn.  He 
was  taken  home  by  a  procession  of  boys,  and  the  attention 
of  a  committee  of  the  school  proprietors  was  called  to  the 
case  by  his  father.  The  result  was  that  punishment  by  ear 
pulling  was  discontinued  at  the  school,  though  the  ferule 
survived  in  full  sway. 


4  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  10. 

About  two  years  later,  as  the  child  was  subject  every 
summer  to  attacks  of  illness,  his  father  concluded  to  try  the 
effect  of  a  country  boarding-school,  and  accordingly  young 
Richard  was  in  May,  1824,  being  not  yet  nine,  taken  to 
Mr.  Wright's  at  Westford,  about  twenty-five  miles  from 
Cambridge.  Here  he  remained  for  some  sixteen  months, 
not  unhappy,  after  a  long  attack  of  homesickness  had  worn 
itself  out ;  and,  though  he  learned  little,  he  did  a  good  deal 
of  day-dreaming  for  one  so  young,  his  childish  imagination 
being  greatly  impressed  by  the  outburst  of  popular  enthusi- 
asm which  marked  the  fifty-year  commemoration  of  Lex- 
ington and  Concord,  followed  by  Lafayette's  long  triumphal 
progress  through  the  country,  and  the  great  oratorical  ef- 
forts of  Everett  at  Cambridge  and  of  Webster  at  Bunker 
Hill. 

In  August,  1825,  young  Dana  was  brought  home  and 
sent  once  more  to  the  grammar  school  at  Cambridgeport. 
At  the  time  of  deciding  on  this  change  in  his  child's  school- 
life,  the  elder  Richard  Henry  wrote  a  letter  to  a  friend 
which  has  been  preserved,  and  which  contains  this  curious 
passage,  strongly  characteristic  of  the  father,  and  not  with- 
out interest  as  throwing  a  gleam  of  light  on  the  early  im- 
pression made  on  those  around  him  by  the  son :  — 

..."  I  have  concluded  to  take  him  back  to  Cambridge. 
The  children  are  mightily  pleased  at  it.  Richard,  I  think, 
will  be  of  great  benefit  to  Master  Ned.  If  I  understand 
Richard,  he  is  a  boy  of  excellent  principles  even  now.  I  'm 
afraid  he  is  too  sensitive  for  his  own  happiness  ;  yet  he  is* 
generally  cheerful  and  ready  for  play,  and  is  a  boy  of  true 
spirit.  After  all,  I  never  think  of  him  without  some  touch 
of  melancholy,  and  with  an  impression  that  if  he  lives  he 
will  not  be  happy ;  and  so  constant  is  this  feeling  in  me 
whenever  he  comes  before  my  mind,  that  should  he  die 
early,  tho'  it  would  be  a  sad  thing  to  part  with  him,  my  first 
and  last  thought  of  him  would  be,  he  has  escaped  the  evil  to 
come.  I  know  this  is  a  weakness  in  me.  But  when  have 
I  been  other  than  a  creature  of  weakness  and  folly  ?  " 


1 825.  SCHOOL~DA  YS.  5 

Young  Richard  did  not  remain  long  at  the  grammar 
school  in  "  the  Port ;  "  for,  soon  afterwards,  a  private  school 
was  opened  in  Cambridge  under  charge  of  no  less  a  person 
than  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  and  Dana  was  one  of  about 
twenty  boys  who  for  a  brief  time  imbibed  the  elements  of  a 
classical  education  under  the  supervision  of  the  future  phi- 
losopher  of  transcendentalism,  in  1825  a  Harvard  graduate 
of  two  years'  standing.  In  Holmes's  memoir  of  Emerson, 
two  of  the  youths  taught  by  him,  Josiah  G.  Abbot  and  John 
Holmes,  give  in  their  own  words  the  impression  which  the 
great  transcendentalist  left  upon  them  as  a  schoolmaster. 
Dana  also  at  a  later  time  wrote  down  his  impression.  Re- 
ferring to  this  portion  of  his  school-days  in  1842,  before 
Emerson  had  yet  attained  his  recognized  eminence,  he  al- 
luded to  him  as  "  since  known  as  a  writer  and  lecturer  upon 
what  is  called  the  transcendental  philosophy.  ...  A  very 
pleasant  instructor  we  had  in  Mr.  E.,  although  he  had  not 
system  or  discipline  enough  to  insure  regular  and  vigorous 
study.  I  have  always  considered  it  fortunate  for  us  that  we 
fell  into  the  hands  of  more  systematic  and  strict  teachers, 
though  not  so  popular  with  us,  nor  perhaps  so  elevated  in 
their  habits  of  thought  as  Mr.  E." 

But  it  was  under  one  of  these  "  more  systematic  and 
strict  teachers "  that  Dana  again  became  a  victim  to  the 
brutal  and  barbarizing  system  of  corporal  punishment  then 
so  much  in  vogue.  Years  afterward,  but  still  laboring  under 
the  deepest  indignation  at  the  degrading  treatment  to  which 
as  a  lad  he  had  been  subjected,  he  gave  a  detailed  account 
of  the  incident.  It  certainly  was  very  bad,  and  now  has  a 
certain  historic  value  as  a  well  authenticated  instance  of  the 
"  Dotheboys  Hall  "  methods  in  vogue  in  Massachusetts  at 
about  the  time  Dickens  was  writing  "  Nicholas  Nickleby  " 
in  England.     Dana  wrote  as  follows  :  — 

Mr.  W.  kept  but  a  fortnight.  He  was  very  un- 
fortunate in  all  his  plans  and  notions.  He  also 
inflicted   some   violent   corporal  punishments.     One 


6  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  10. 

inflicted   upon  myself  was   the  cause  of   his   being 
turned  out  of  office. 

He  [the  schoolmaster]  had  placed  me  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  floor  for  some  offence  or  other,  and  my 
station  being  near  the  stove,  and  the  room  very  hot, 
I  became  faint  and  asked  to  be  allowed  to  go  out  and 
gave  my  reason,  but  to  no  purpose.  In  a  few  min- 
utes we  had  our  usual  recess  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour, 
and  I  went  out.  Here  I  came  very  near  fainting 
again,  looked  very  pale,  and  asked  leave  to  go  home. 
This  was  refused.  As  I  was  really  sick,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  boys,  I  went  home,  which  was  but 
a  few  minutes'  walk,  to  get  a  written  excuse.  My 
father  saw  that  I  was  ill  and  kept  me  at  home,  and 
sent  me  the  next  morning  with  a  written  excuse  for 
my  non-appearance,  alleging  faintness  and  sickness. 
Mr.  VV.  was  mortified  and  angry  at  this  and  said  that 
the  excuse  only  covered  my  not  returning,  while  the 
chief  offence  was  my  going  home  without  leave, 
which  he  could  not  excuse,  and  calling  me  out,  took 
his  ferule  and  ordered  me  to  put  out  my  left  hand. 
(He  also  intimated  that  my  sickness  was  all  a  sham.) 
Upon  this  hand  he  inflicted  six  blows  with  all  his 
strength,  and  then  six  upon  the  right  hand.  I  was 
in  such  a  frenzy  of  indignation  at  his  injustice  and 
his  insulting  insinuation,  that  I  could  not  have  ut- 
tered a  word  for  my  life.  I  was  too  small  and  slen- 
der to  resist,  and  could  show  my  spirit  only  by  forti- 
tude. He  called  for  my  right  hand  again,  and  gave 
six  more  blows  in  the  same  manner,  and  then  six 
more  upon  the  left.  My  hands  were  swollen  and  in 
acute  pain,  but  I  did  not  flinch  nor  show  a  sign  of 
suffering.  He  was  determined  to  conquer  and  gave 
six   more   blows   upon   each  hand,  with  full   force. 


1825-30.  SCHOOL-DAYS.  7 

Still  there  was  no  sign  from  me  of  pain  or  submis- 
sion. I  could  have  gone  to  the  stake  for  what  I  con- 
sidered my  honor.  The  school  was  in  an  uproar  of 
hissing  and  scraping  and  groaning,  and  the  master 
turned  his  attention  to  the  other  boys  and  let  me 
alone.  He  said  not  another  word  to  me  through  the 
day.  If  he  had  I  could  not  have  answered,  for  my 
whole  soul  was  in  my  throat  and  not  a  word  could 
get  out.  ...  I  went  in  the  afternoon  to  the  trustees 
of  the  school,  stated  my  case,  produced  my  evidence, 
and  had  an  examination  made.  The  next  morning 
but  four  boys  went  to  school,  and  the  day  following 
the  career  of  Mr.  W.  ended. 

Remaining  here  about  four  years  in  all,  in  the  winter  of 
of  1829-30  young  Richard,  being  then  in  his  fifteenth  year, 
was  sent  as  a  day  scholar  to  a  well-known  boarding  and 
day  school,  also  within  the  limits  of  Cambridge,  to  be  there 
prepared  for  college.     He  afterwards  wrote  down  a  detailed 

description  of 's,  rightly  supposing  that  it  was  one  of 

the  last  specimens  of  the  old  English  style  of  school-keeping 
in  this  country,  and  as  such  would  in  time  become  matter 
of  curious  inquiry.  As  the  school  in  question  was  for  many 
years  in  great  vogue  among  the  more  wealthy  families  of 
Boston  and  vicinity,  Mr.  Dana's  description  of  it  will  be 
recognized  readily  enough  not  only  by  some  of  his  contem- 
poraries, but  by  many  of  the  succeeding  generation. 

This  school  consisted  of  about  thirty  boys,  of 
whom  all  but  about  half  a  dozen  were  boarders,  and 
either  sons  of  men  of  property  in  Boston,  or  of  South- 
ern gentlemen  and  sent  to  his  care.  The  accommo- 
dations of  the  boys  were  as  follows :  four  large  rooms 
in  the  attic,  in  which  they  slept,  six  or  seven  in  a 
room,  and  to  which  they  were  not  permitted  to  go 
except  for  sleeping,  or  for  some  special  purpose,  upon 


8  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  15. 

leave.  There  were  no  fires  in  these  rooms,  and  I 
believe  but  one  light  in  the  entry  for  all  the  rooms. 
I  am  not  certain  of  the  latter  fact,  but,  at  all  events, 
the  boys  were  never  allowed  a  light  except  for  a  few 
minutes,  to  go  to  bed  with.  There  was  a  wash-room, 
also  without  a  fire,  with  half  a  dozen  tin  basins  and 
towels,  for  the  boys'  washing.  There  was  a  dining- 
room,  reserved  for  meals,  and  never  entered  for  any 
other  purpose.  The  school-room  was  the  only  room 
in  which  the  boys  could  be,  except  when  in  bed,  by 
day  or  night,  and  in  which  they  must  do  all  their 
reading,  writing,  thinking,  conversing,  and  in  which 
their  characters  and  habits  were  formed.  This  room 
was  oblong,  rather  small  for  the  number  of  boys  it 
was  to  accommodate,  with  a  stove  in  the  middle,  and 
but  one  light  in  the  evening  for  all  the  boys,  and  that 
a  lamp  fastened  to  the  wall  higher  than  the  boys' 
heads,  and  of  such  a  kind  and  so  placed  that  but  two 
or  three  boys  could  read  by  it  at  the  same  time.  In- 
deed, what  with  the  noise  of  so  many  boys  in  one 
room,  the  necessity  of  going  awTay  from  the  stove,  and 
the  poor  accommodations  under  this  lamp,  very  little 
reading  was  done.  Those  boys  who  passed  several 
years  at  this  school  before  entering  college  went  to 
college  the  most  ignorant  young  men  upon  all  sub- 
jects of  literature  and  of  that  knowledge  acquired 
through  books  and  the  society  of  educated  persons, 
and  not  necessarily  connected  with  their  Latin,  Greek, 
and  mathematics,  of  any  who  are  able  to  get  for 
themselves  what  is  commonly  called  a  liberal  educa- 
tion. They  seemed  to  belong  to  another  class  from 
the  young  gentlemen,  well  informed  and  well  man- 
nered, of  the  school  I  had  left.  They  were  inferior 
to  them  also  in  the  sports  and  athletic  exercises  of 


1830.  SCHOOL-DAYS.  9 

boys.  For  in  this  school  there  were  bounds  beyond 
which  the  scholars  were  never  permitted  to  go. 
These  bounds  included  the  yard  about  the  house  and 
a  play-ground  adjoining  ;  but  none  of  the  favorite 
games  of  foot-ball,  hand-ball,  base  or  cricket,  could 
be  played  in  the  grounds  with  any  satisfaction,  for 
the  ball  would  be  constantly  flying  over  the  fence, 
beyond  which  the  boys  could  not  go  without  asking 
special  leave.  This  was  a  damper  upon  the  more 
ranging  and  athletic  exercises.  Flying  kite,  too,  was 
of  course  out  of  the  question,  as  that  requires  a  long 
run  to  raise  the  kite  and  sometimes  a  chase  after  it 
if  the  string  should  break.  Hardly  a  boy  in  the 
school  knew  how  to  swim,  except  the  day  scholars 
and  those  Boston  boys  who  went  to  the  swimming 
school  in  vacation. 

The  only  punishment  known  in  this  school  was 
flogging.  The  master  always  had  a  rattan  either  in 
hand  or  lying  on  his  desk  ;  and  if  any  disorder  was 
observed,  or  a  boy  had  not  his  lesson  prepared,  the 
master  sprang  up  and  down  went  the  rattan  upon 
the  boy's  back.  There  were  about  half  a  dozen  boys 
who  were  flogged  regularly  every  day,  and  who  de- 
tested the  sight  of  school-room,  master  and  books. 
There  was  never  a  half-day  without  a  good  deal  of 
flogging.  The  boys  in  the  upper  class,  who  were  to 
enter  college  within  the  year,  were  rarely  if  ever 
flogged.  I  do  not  remember  a  boy  in  my  class  being 
flogged  while  I  was  in  the  school.  But  the  smaller 
boys  suffered  from  it.  Those  who  were  slow  to  learn, 
and  needed  encouragement,  became  disheartened  and 
made  but  little  progress  ;  and  the  smart  boys  trans- 
gressed as  much  as  they  could  and  avoid  punishment. 
I  remember  very  well  two  or  three  boys,  in  particn- 


10  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  16. 

lar,  who  became  almost  stultified  over  their  books. 
One  of  them  was  weeks  and  weeks  upon  a  few  pages - 
of  his  Latin  grammar,  which  he  had  blotted  with 
tears  and  blackened  with  his  fingers,  until  they  were 
hardly  legible.  That  boy  generally  cried  from  a 
quarter  to  a  half  hour  every  half -day  over  his  lesson. 

In  July,  1831,  Dana  entered  college  and  soon  took  a  high 
rank  in  his  class,  showing  a  natural  aptitude  for  mathemat- 
ics. Before  the  end  of  his  Freshman  year  one  of  those 
college  difficulties,  much  more  common  then  than  now,  and 
absurdly  called  "  rebellions,"  took  place.  It  soon  involved 
the  whole  class.  It  was  the  familiar  story.  Some  offence 
had  been  committed,,  and  "  a  charity  student"  was  called 
upon  to  divulge  the  name  of  the  culprit.  He  refused,  and, 
the  matter  then  having  got  into  the  courts  of  law,  was  sum- 
moned as  a  witness.  A  class  meeting  was  thereupon  held, 
and  resolutions  to  "  sustain  our  class-mates  "  were  passed. 
The  *'  rebellion  "  naturally  followed,  breaking  out,  of  course, 
at  evening  prayers,  when  a  combined  tumult  of  hissing, 
groaning  and  scraping  completely  drowned  the  voice  of  the 
officiating  clergyman.  "  This  brought  Mr.  Quincy  down 
from  his  seat,  and  two  or  three  tutors  from  the  galleries. 
They  watched  us  closely,  but  the  noise  continued  through- 
out the  reading  and  until  the  prayer  commenced  ;  when  it 
stopped.  The  same  thing  was  repeated  on  Saturday  morn- 
ing. There  was  an  open  rebellion."  Some  of  the  class 
were  sent  away,  and  others  were  taken  away  temporarily 
by  their  parents.  For  such  as  remained,  the  alternative  of 
suspension  or  expulsion  was  jDresented.  Though  he  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  original  cause  of  offence,  young 
Dana  wholly  sympathized  with  his  class.  It  had  been  inti- 
mated to  his  father,  that  if  the  son  would  keep  away  for 
a  few  days  he  would  be  permitted  to  remain.  The  two 
Richards  discussed  the  matter  together,  and  the  course  he 
would  pursue  was  finally  left  to  the  younger.  He  decided 
that  he  was  "  in  honor  bound "  to  his  class-mates  ;  so  he 


1832.  SCHOOL-DAYS.  11 

next  morning  went  in  to  prayers  with  such  of  them  as  were 
left,  and  was  summoned  before  the  faculty  immediately 
afterwards  to  be  suspended. 

The  six  months  of  rustication  which  ensued  he  passed 
with  the  Rev.  Leonard  Woods,  Jr.,  afterwards  President  of 
Bowdoin  College,  then  a  resident  licentiate  of  Andover  The- 
ological Seminary.  Of  this  episode  in  his  college  life,  and 
of  President  Woods  personally,  Mr.  Dana  always  after- 
wards spoke  with  feeling  and  pleasure.  The  college  rebel- 
lion and  its  outcome  he  accounted  a  piece  of  great  good 
fortune,  for  it  brought  him  at  a  most  impressionable  age  in 
close  contact  with  a  superior  man. 

Mr.  Woods  was  then  only  about  four  and  twenty 
years  old,  yet  had  completed  his  course  of  college  and 
professional  education,  was  giving  his  time  to  a  sys- 
tem of  comprehensive  scholarship,  chiefly  theological, 
and  had  already  become  a  ripe  scholar.  Besides  his 
Latin  and  Greek  and  Hebrew,  with  which  he  was 
sufficiently  conversant  for  the  purposes  of  his  reading, 
he  both  read  and  wrote  with  ease  German,  French, 
and,  I  think,  Italian.  He  was  an  indefatigable  and 
enthusiastic  student,  with  a  heart  full  of  noble  and 
kind  sentiments,  with  a  manner  which  won  the  con- 
fidence and  love  of  all,  with  remarkable  purity  of 
spirit,  and  with  a  firm  religious  faith  and  a  complete 
religious  personal  experience.  He  was  also  more  free 
from  prejudice,  opinionativeness  and  exclusiveness 
than  most  students  of  theological  system.  Indeed, 
I  never  saw  that  he  had  any  of  those  faults.  More 
than  any  person  whom  I  ever  knew  he  seemed  to 
read,  study,  think  and  converse  for  the  purpose  of 
developing  fairly  all  his  powers  and  coming  to  a 
knowledge  of  truth.  He  was  not  only  a  fair  but  a 
favorable  critic,  and  his  society  was  very  agreeable  to 


12  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  18. 

the  most  unlearned  and  simple,  and  much  sought 
after  by  them,  a  thing  not  usual  with  the  learned 
and  accomplished.  For  a  student  of  abstractions,  he 
was  uncommonly  familiar  with  every  variety  of  polite 
literature.  Poetry  he  studied  as  high  philosophy  and 
enjoyed  it  as  answering  to  a  soul  tuned  for  harmony, 
in  love  with  beauty,  and  alive  to  noble  or  graceful 
sentiments.  Novels  and  romances  of  every  school  he 
read  with  interest,  and  kept  himself  acquainted  with 
the  current  literature  of  the  day,  also  with  much  of 
the  lighter  literature  of  other  times  which  has  sur- 
vived to  us. 

To  do  all  this  required  system  and  great  applica- 
tion ;  and  both  of  these  he  certainly  had.  He  never 
lost  a  moment.  His  books,  nature  or  society,  and 
his  hours  set  apart  for  retirement  employed  all  his 
time,  and  whatever  he  did  was  done  with  his  might. 

Returning  to  Cambridge  when  the  period  of  suspension  was 
over,  Dana  finished  his  Sophomore  year  and  had  just  entered 
on  his  Junior  year  when  he  had  an  attack  of  measles,  in  some 
way  contracted  during  the  vacation,  which  he  had  passed  at 
Plymouth  ;  although  the  attack  was  not  peculiarly  severe,  it 
left  his  eyes  so  weak  that  for  a  while  he  could  not  endure 
the  ordinary  light  of  day,  and,  even  when  they  grew  better, 
any  effort  at  reading  caused  intense  pain.  This  continued 
for  several  months,  making  study  impossible,  and  forcing 
him  to  leave  college.  Under  such  circumstances  the  aver- 
age youth  of  eighteen  would  have  yielded  to  his  fate.  The 
means  of  the  elder  Dana  were  so  small  that  the  visit  to 
Europe  ordinarily  prescribed  in  such  cases  was  out  of  the 
question  for  his  son,  who  besides  was  somewhat  young  to 
profit  by  it.  Accordingly  for  a  time  Richard  lived  an  aim- 
less life  in  Cambridge,  useless  and  dissatisfied,  feeling  him- 
self a  burden  upon  his  friends.  But  from  childhood  upward 
he  had  felt  a  strong  love  of  adventure,  which  now  under 


1834.  VOYAGE   TO   CALIFORNIA.  13 

the  pressure  of  enforced  idleness  broke  out  in  force  and  made 
him  set  his  heart  on  a  long  voyage  in  order  at  once  to  relieve 
himself  from  ennui,  to  see  strange  lands  and  modes  of  life, 
and  if  possible  to  restore  his  strength  of  sight.  A  voyage 
in  the  cabin  of  some  India  merchantman  would  in  those 
days  of  Boston's  Calcutta  trade  have  been  with  most  young 
men  the  natural  outcome  of  such  a  longing.  Many  oppor- 
tunities for  this  offered,  but  Dana  was  sensible  enough  to 
realize  that  a  long  cabin  voyage  with  eyes  too  weak  for 
reading  would  be  intolerably  tedious ;  and  so  he  made  up 
his  mind  to  go  before  the  mast,  wisely  reasoning  that  hard 
work,  plain  diet,  and  open-air  life  would  by  effecting  a  grad- 
ual change  in  his  whole  physical  system  ultimately  restore 
his  eyesight.  The  experiment  was  a  somewhat  daring  one, 
for  Dana  had  not  even  been  brought  up  as  a  lad  in  a  sea- 
port town,  and  accordingly  knew  nothing  of  the  sea,  or  of 
ships  ;  indeed  the  only  evidence  that  he  had  ever  sailed 
a  boat  at  all  is  derived  from  James  Russell  Lowell,  who, 
when  speaking  of  the  college  sloop  Harvard  and  her  cord- 
wood  voyages  to  the  eastward,  in  his  paper  on  "Cam- 
bridge, Thirty  Years  Ago,"  incidentally  remarks  :  "  In- 
spired by  her  were  those  first  essays  at  navigation  on  the 
Winthrop  duck-pond,  of  the  plucky  boy  who  was  afterwards 
to  serve  two  famous  years  before  the  mast."  But  there  *is 
a  wide  difference  between  the  Winthrop  duck-pond  and  salt 
water,  and  naturally  enough  the  elder  Dana  looked  at  first 
with  little  favor  on  his  son's  adventurous  project.  Never- 
theless, he  was  wise  enough  to  yield  at  last  a  silent  though 
reluctant  and  foreboding  consent  to  what  he  could  hardly 
forbid,  and  Dana  thus  described  the  steps  which  gradually 
led  to  his  voyage  :  — 

The  first  vessel  in  which  I  attempted  to  procure 
a  situation  was  the  ship  Japan  bound  to  India, 
owned  in  part  by  Mr.  J.  Ingersoll  Bowditch,  son  of 
Dr.  Bowditch,  the  celebrated  mathematician.  Mr. 
B.  was  going  out  as  supercargo,  and  upon  becoming 


14  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  19. 

acquainted  with  me  positively  refused  to  let  me  go 
before  the  mast,  but  offered  me  a  passage  with  him 
to  Calcutta  and  back,  as  a  companion,  and  a  room  in 
his  house  on  shore  while  there.  He  also  introduced 
me  to  his  father,  who  partly  joined  in  his  son's  dis- 
suasions, though  with  less  earnestness,  for  the  old 
gentleman  had  been  a  short  voyage  before  the  mast 
himself  when  a  boy,  and  he  knew  that  it  had  done 
him  good.  He  told  me  he  liked  my  resolution, 
which  only  added  fuel  to  the  fire.  I  therefore  re- 
fused the  kind  offer  of  Mr.  B.,  and  after  some  trouble 
and  delay  procured  a  berth  in  the  brig  Pilgrim,  for 
California.  I  undertook  this  voyage  because  it  was 
difficult  to  get  any  other  that  would  be  long  enough, 
at  that  time,  and  because  California  was  represented 
to  be  a  very  healthy  coast,  with  a  fine  climate,  and 
plenty  of  hard  work  for  the  sailors. 

Sailing  from  Boston  in  the  brig  Pilgrim  on  the  14th  of 
August,  1834,  Dana  got  back  to  Boston  in  the  ship  Alert  on 
the  22d  of  September,  1836.  He  went  away  a  town-nur- 
tured, college  stripling  of  nineteen  ;  he  returned  a  robust 
man  of  twenty-one.  The  heroic  treatment  to  which  he  had 
recourse  settled  the  difficulty  with  his  eyes  ;  thereafter  they 
gave  him  no  more  trouble. 

But  considerable  as  it  was,  this  advantage  was  trifling 
compared  with  the  moral  change  which  his  great  experience 
had  wrought  in  him.  Taken  abruptly  away  from  books 
and  college  and  home  influence,  Dana  had  passed  two  years 
during  the  most  impressionable  period  of  life  on  the  deck 
and  the  beach  in  close,  hard  contact  with  nature  and  man ; 
it  was  exactly  what  he  needed,  and,  as  a  part  of  his  educa- 
tion, was  of  more  value  to  him  than  that  of  any  other  equal 
period  of  his  youth.  Dana  needed  coarsening  if  he  was 
to  deal  successfully  with  practical  life.  As  not  unseldom 
is  the  case  in  America,  his  descent  was  a  disadvantage  to 


1831.  VOYAGE   TO   CALIFORNIA.  15 

him,  —  it  bade  fair  to  handicap  him  in  the  race.  His 
chances  for  achieving  distinction  would  have  been  incom- 
parably better  had  he  been  the  son  of  some  Congregational 
clergyman  settled  over  a  poor  country  parish  ;  for  in  Amer- 
ica it  is  not  well  far  any  young  man  to  grow  up  under  the 
consciousness  of  an  ancestry  or  incumbered  by  family  tradi- 
tions. Dana  not  only  did  so  grow  up,  but  moreover  he  was 
naturally  disposed  to  dwell  upon  this  sort  of  thing,  and  to 
magnify  its  importance.  The  elder  Richard  Henry  was 
born  a  dreamer ;  sensitive,  diffident,  distrustful  of  himself, 
he  shrank  from  contact  with  the  mass  of  men,  and  only  a 
sense  of  duty  could  force  him  into  conflict  with  any  one. 
After  the  death  of  his  wife,  to  whom  he  was  tenderly  at- 
tached, he  lived  with  his  unmarried  sisters  and  family  tradi- 
tions, and  looked  out  upon  the  world  as  he  might  have 
looked  from  his  study  windows  upon  a  noisy,  dusty  market- 
place in  which  vulgar  people  crowded  and  jostled  each  other 
in  a  struggle  for  prizes,  the  value  of  which  he  felt  in  his 
daily  life,  but  could  not  nerve  himself  to  take  his  part  in 
getting.  He  was  not,  as  many  are,  made  bitter  or  discon- 
tented by  a  sense  of  failure,  or  of  youthful  promise  not  ful- 
filled, for  his  was  a  refined  and  elevated  nature  ;  but  he 
more  and  more  withdrew  within  himself  and  his  little  family 
circle,  accepting  the  position  the  world  assigned  him  as  a 
man  of  gentle  birth  and  slender  means,  with  a  poetic  tem- 
perament which  had  blossomed  and  sent  forth  shoots,  but 
had  failed  to  flower  or  to  grow. 

Of  more  robust  intellect,  and  far  more  energetic  and  self- 
reliant  nature  than  his  father,  the  younger  Richard  Henry 
had  many  traits  of  character  in  common  with  him.  As  a 
child  he  was  sensitive,  impressionable,  and  addicted  to  day- 
dreaming ;  as  he  grew  up  he  developed  a  premature  and  ex- 
aggerated punctiliousness  on  all  points  of  so-called  <4  honor," 
together  with  a  somewhat  overwhelming  sense  of  responsi- 
bility to  family ;  later  on  the  hereditary  traits,  good  in 
themselves  and  calculated  to  command  respect  but  still  not 


16  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA,  JEt.  19. 

conducive  to  practical  success  in  an  American  business  life, 
became  more  and  more  pronounced.  But  for  his  hard  and 
healthy  forecastle  experience  these  foibles  of  nature  and  in- 
heritance would  doubtless  have  cropped  out  earlier  and 
borne  their  pernicious  fruit.  Thus,  with  Dana  the  fore- 
castle experience  arrested  morbid  action,  or,  in  homely  lan- 
guage, took  the  nonsense  out  of  him.  He  could  no  longer 
be  a  dreamer,  in  danger  of  becoming  a  little  later  on  what 
is  sometimes  called  a  "  prig,"  and  turned  out  a  tough, 
manly,  sensible  young  fellow,  afraid  of  nothing,  eager  to 
please  and  succeed,  resolute,  unselfish  and  honest. 

He  had  also  received  what  few  college-bred  young  men 
ever  get,  —  a  course  in  natural  life.  That  "  course,"  set 
down  in  no  curriculum,  takes  time  ;  but  it  is  worth  all  the 
time  it  takes.  Most  college  graduates  go  directly  from  the 
lecture-room  to  the  pursuit  of  some  calling,  or  the  study  of 
a  profession  ;  possibly  they  may  pass  a  few  months  or  even 
years  in  some  foreign  college  or  in  the  capitals  of  Europe, 
that  they  may  return  more  thoroughly  educated,  or,  per- 
haps, only  travelled  gentlemen.  Conventionally,  this  is  the 
correct  thing  to  do.  Those  who  during  the  days  of  their 
youth  and  vigor  snatch  a  year  or  two  from  pleasure  or  from 
earning  a  living  and  give  it  to  a  close  communion  with  na- 
ture in  man  and  in  things  are  few  indeed.  The  War  of  the 
Rebellion  thrust  upon  the  young  men  of  a  generation  which 
followed,  what  Dana  in  1835  got  for  himself.  They  in  their 
time,  as  he  in  his,  were  forced  to  waste,  as  it  is  expressed, 
precious  years  in  an  experience  full  of  dangerous  exposure, 
and  which  led  to  nothing.  Yet  to  them  as  to  him  that 
experience  was  of  incalculable  worth.  It  brought  out  man- 
hood. Jt  showed  how  much  of  the  heroic  is  latent.  Wher- 
ever there  was  pure  metal,  the  dross  was  purged  from  it. 

As  it  was  with  the  mass  in  the  Rebellion,  so  was  it  with 
Dana  thirty  years  before.  The  stones  sink;  the  corks 
swim.  Close  contact  with  the  coarse  and  the  material  in 
nature  and  man  is  a  crucial   test ;  but  while   it   develops 


1834.  VOYAGE    TO   CALIFORNIA.  17 

whatever  is  coarse  and  material  in  those  subjected  to  it,  — 
while  the  baser  natures  succumb,  he  who  has  in  him  the 
qualities  of  true  manhood  comes  out  from  the  ordeal  purged 
and  strengthened ;  and  so  the  forecastle  did  Dana  nothing 
but  good.  He  came  out  of  it  better  in  every  respect  than 
he  went  into  it.  Whatever  measure  of  success  and  fame 
he  afterwards  achieved  in  life  was  in  all  human  probability 
due  to  it.  That  which  would  have  ruined  a  coarser  nature 
simply  toned  him  up  to  the  proper  level.  He  ceased  to 
be  too  fine  for  every-day  use.  Indeed,  all  through  his  sub- 
sequent life  a  sort  of  conflict  may  be  observed  between  the 
saving  inspiration  of  the  forecastle  and  hereditary  instincts 
and  traditions.  In  the  prime  of  his  manhood  the  first  pre- 
dominated and  led  to  an  early  and  brilliant  career ;  as  the 
years  went  on  the  freshness  of  the  great  lesson  faded  away, 
and  influences  which  antedated  his  birth  and  surrounded  his 
life  asserted  themselves,  not  for  his  good. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE   LIFE. 

Landing  in  his  seaman's  clothes  on  Long  Wharf  from  the 
Alert  on  the  22d  of  September,  1836,  a  rugged,  bronzed 
young  fellow  of  twenty-one,  Dana  found  himself  once  more, 
as  if  by  magic,  returned  to  civilized  life.  Accustomed  as 
he  so  long  had  been  to  seeing  only  rough,  hardy,  sunburnt 
faces,  the  men  he  met  seemed  at  first  like  convalescents 
from  some  epidemic  fever,  while  the  women  were  mere 
shades.  In  a  day  or  two  all  this  passed  away,  and  the 
next  few  weeks  he  spent  pleasantly  enough  visiting  his  rel- 
atives and  in  a  trip  to  Burlington,  Vermont,  where  his 
younger  brother  Edmund  was  in  college.  He  then  returned 
to  Boston,  to  which  city  his  father  had  moved  during  his 
absence  at  sea,  and  prepared  to  reenter  Harvard  ;  for  he 
had  been  given  to  understand  that,  upon  passing  an  exami- 
nation, he  could  become  a  member  in  full  standing  of  the 
Senior  class,  that  of  1837,  his  own  class  having  been  gradu- 
ated in  1835. 

Both  morally  and  mentally  Dana  was  at  this  time  in  a 
highly  receptive  condition.  It  could  not  well  have  been 
otherwise,  inasmuch  as  for  more  than  two  years  during  the 
most  germinating  period  of  life  his  mind  had  been  lying  fal- 
low ;  and  now  he  had  come  back  in  a  state  of  intellectual 
famine  to  books  and  study  and  intercourse  with  educated 
men.  His  faculties  for  enjoyment  had  been  stored  up,  and 
life  to  him  was  all  fresh  and  strange  and  young.  He  took 
a  keen  delight  in  everything,  —  in  people,  in  places  and 
in  books.  Not  that  he  was  in  the  slightest  degree  the  tra- 
ditional sailor  on  shore,  for  Dana  was  ingrained  a  gentle- 


1836.         ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE  LIFE.  19 

man  ;  but,  though  pleasures  low  and  coarse  had  no  attrac- 
tion for  him,  he  saw  things  vividly,  and  he  felt  keenly.  He 
was  by  nature  reticent  and  secretive  when  he  felt  much,  so 
he  never  wore  his  heart  upon  his  sleeve  ;  but  at  this  period 
enjoyment  made  his  aspect  bright,  buoyant  and  attractive. 
Indeed,  it  was  to  this  buoyancy  of  temperament  and  sus- 
ceptibility to  impressions  that  he  owed  his  early  success, 
both  literary  and  professional.  He  saw  things  clearly,  they 
impressed  themselves  vividly  upon  him,  and  he  wrote  or 
spoke  of  them  as  he  saw  and  felt. 

By  those  who  remember  him  at  this  stage  of  life  he  is 
described  as  a  broad-shouldered  and  erect  young  fellow, 
though  somewhat  short  of  stature,  wearing  a  profusion  of 
brown,  curling  hair,  which  he  allowed  to  grow  longer  than 
is  customary  with  men ;  his  mouth  was  firm  and  strong,  and 
a  singularly  attractive  smile  when  he  was  pleased  or  inter- 
ested, which  he  retained  to  the  end  of  his  life,  revealed  a  set 
of  handsome,  regular  teeth.  Robust,  overflowing  with  phys- 
ical health  and  animal  spirits,  the  chances  were  large  that 
coming  suddenly  back  from  the  forecastle  to  society,  the 
long  pent-up  hunger  for  intellectual  food  and  capacity  for 
enjoyment  would  evince  themselves  in  some  pronounced 
form.  They  did  so  ;  but  in  a  way  which  would  under  the 
circumstances  least  have  been  expected.  His  mind  turned 
to  religious  thought. 

The  Dana  family  belonged  by  descent  to  the  first  Ortho- 
dox Congregational  parish  of  Cambridge,  —  to  the  church 
over  which  Thomas  Shepard,  that  "  silver  trumpet,"  of 
whom  Cotton  Mather  wrote,  "  his  life  was  a  trembling  walk 
with  God,"  had  first  presided  ;  and  when  the  Unitarian 
schism  took  place  in  1829,  the  Danas,  though  relatives  of 
Channing,  were  among  that  seceding  majority  of  church 
members  who,  clinging  to  the  ancient  faith  of  New  Eng- 
land, abandoned  the  meeting-house  of  their  fathers  to  the 
larger  party  in  the  parish,  and  went  under  the  lead  of  their 
pastor   to   worship   temporarily  in   the   court-house.     This 


20  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  21. 

heated  controversy  left  its  scars  on  the  Dana  family  as  well 
as  on  the  Cambridge  parish  ;  for  years  afterwards,  referring 
to  the  family  letters  written  him  while  at  school  at  West- 
ford  which  he  had  then  been  looking  over,  he  wrote  as  fol- 
lows to  his  wife  :  — 

1849.  Av gust  4.  Those  letters  bring  up  our 
childhood  so  pleasantly  and  oddly,  they  are  very  in- 
teresting. I  want  you  to  read  them.  They  show 
how  we  lived,  acted,  felt,  before  the  demon  of  Cal- 
vinism and  Revivalism  got  hold  upon  the  family.  It 
looks  as  though  we  might  have  been  trained  up  a 
cheerful,  kindly  affectioned,  religious  household,  with 
our  pleasures  and  friends  about  us.  But  the  flower 
of  our  youth  from  twelve  to  twenty  was  under  a 
cloud.  The  clouds  had  rolled  off,  and  we  were  get- 
ting into  light  and  warmth  again  after  we  moved  to 
Boston  [1835]  ;  but  the  effect  of  those  years  on  us 

all,  and  especially  on and  Father,  never  can  be 

quite  erased. 

Subject  to  influences  like  these,  it  would  have  been 
strange  indeed  if  from  time  to  time  during  his  school-life 
young  Richard,  like  most  boys  of  ingenuous  nature,  had  not 
passed  through  periods  of  spiritual  awakening,  —  times 
when  the  conscience  stirred.  When  he  went  to  sea,  he  be- 
came as  the  sailors  he  was  with.  As  he  wrote  subsequently, 
"  During  this  voyage  I  had  but  one  time  of  serious  impres- 
sions, and  that  was  when  lying  sick  in  my  berth  off  Cape 
Horn,  amidst  the  ice  and  in  momentary  danger  of  death.  I 
knew  that  the  very  next  wave  might  send  the  vessel  against 
ice  which  the  fog  hid  from  us,  and  which  might  destroy  us 
in  an  instant.  I  lay,  too,  in  my  berth  in  the  forecastle  just 
where  the  vessel  would  strike  if  at  all.  In  this  state  I 
prayed  and  vowed  to  God  ;  but  it  was  strange,  and  did  not 
go  to  the  root  of  the  evil ;  and  the  next  day  I  forgot  it." 


1836.         ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE  LIFE.  21 

Shortly  after  his  return  home  an  incident  occurred  which 
affected  him  greatly.  One  of  his  friends  fell  ill,  and,  while 
in  that  state  of  acute  religious  excitement  which  not  unfre- 
quently  occurs  in  presence  of  death,  often  spoke  of  Richard 
Dana,  expressing  great  fear  as  to  his  spiritual  welfare ;  and 
this  was  subsequently  repeated  to  him.  It  was  such  a  thing 
as  might  have  happened  in  the  life  of  any  young  man,  and 
under  ordinary  circumstances  would  have  made  no  lasting 
impression  ;  but  coming  as  it  did  in  Dana's  case,  at  a  time 
when  the  mind  and  moral  nature  were  in  a  peculiarly  sen- 
sitive state,  it  was  a  call.  His  thoughts  turned  strongly 
towards  religious  topics  and  observances,  and  the  awaken- 
ing was  a  continued  one.  Unitarian  preaching,  as  he  ex- 
pressed it,  "went  over  his  head."  Orthodox  preaching 
appealed  to  his  intellect,  but  shocked  his  instinct ;  while  it 
sounded  like  the  knell  of  judgment,  it  had  none  of  that 
visible  form  and  outward  state  which  were  needed  to  satisfy 
his  eye,  his  ear  and  his  imaginative  sense.  So,  presently, 
he  joined  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and  through  the 
remainder  of  his  life  he  continued  in  public  and  in  private 
a  devout,  conscientious  and  strictly  observant  Episcopalian. 
Confirmed  at  St.  Paul's,  he  later  belonged  to  the  Boston 
parish  known  as  the  Church  of  the  Advent,  of  which  he 
was,  as  will  presently  be  seen,  an  original  member,  and 
always  a  burning  and  a  shining  light. 

In  December,  1836,  Dana  joined  the  Senior  class  at  Har- 
vard, remaining  with  it  until  graduation,  a  period  of  only 
six  months  ;  but  they  were  months  of  such  enjoyment  as  is 
rarely  given  to  an  under-graduate.  Both  physically  and 
mentally  he  was  matured.  He  lived  no  longer  in  a  crowded 
forecastle,  but  in  a  room  by  himself  in  the  southwest  corner 
of  Hollis,  and  the  lot  of  a  college  student  struck  him  as  the 
pleasantest  possible.  He  felt  none  of  that  desire  to  be  done 
with  school,  and  the  eager  longing  to  begin  what  is  called 
life,  which  destroys  for  so  many  the  pleasure  of  the  most 
enjoyable  years  which  life   affords.     On  the  contrary,  he 


22  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  My.  21. 

could  not  understand  the  indifference  and  fastidious  dissat- 
isfaction of  his  acquaintances.  Devoted  to  his  studies,  he 
took  one  of  the  Bowdoin  prizes  for  English  prose  composi- 
tion, and  the  first  Boylston  prize  for  elocution  ;  he  was  also 
a  member  of  both  the  Porcellian  and  the  Hasty"  Pudding 
clubs.  His  marks  made  him  first  scholar,  but  as  at  gradua- 
tion he  had  been  with  his  class  less  than  a  year  no  special 
rank  was  given  him,  though  at  commencement  he  was  as- 
signed the  part  which  usually  fell  to  the  fifth  scholar.  Of 
his  performance  Dr.  John  Pierce  of  Brookline,  then  attend- 
ing his  fifty-third  commencement,  wrote  in  his  journal :  — 
"  A  dissertation  by  Richard  H.  Dana,  son  of  R.  H.  Dana 
and  grandson  of  the  former  Judge  Francis  Dana,  was  on 
the  unique  topic,  '  Heaven  lies  about  us  in  our  Infancy.' 
He  is  a  handsome  youth,  and  spoke  well.  But  his  compo- 
sition was  of  that  Swedenborgian,  Coleridgian,  and  dreamy 
cast  which  it  requires  a  peculiar  structure  of  mind  to  under- 
stand, much  more  to  relish."  l  The  "  unique  topic  "  was 
from  Wordsworth,  and  was  suggested  to  Dana  by  Professor 
Channing,  who,  when  asked  for  a  subject,  read  this  line 
from  the  volume  he  chanced  to  have  open  in  his  hand. 

Dana  had  always  assumed  he  was  to  be  a  lawyer,  though 
he  felt  no  call  to  the  profession  ;  and,  in  fact,  had  imbibed 
from  his  father  an  almost  morbid  dislike  of  it  as  hard,  dry 
and  uncertain.  Still  his  ancestors  had  been  distinguished 
lawyers,  and  he  had  a  distaste  for  every  other  learned  call- 
ing, except  divinity,  for  which,  as  he  afterwards  wrote,  he 
did  not  feel  himself  fit.  Under  these  circumstances  it  was 
most  fortunate  for  him  that,  instead  of  entering  an  office,  he 
went  immediately  after  graduation  into  the  Dane  Law 
School,  over  which  Judge  Story  and  Professor  Greenleaf 
then  presided.  "  Free,"  as  he  expressed  it,  "  from  all  the 
details,  chicanery  and  responsibilities  of  practice,  we  were 
placed  in  a  library  under  learned,  honorable  and  gentle- 
manly instructors,  and  invited  to  pursue  the  study  of  ju- 
risprudence, as  a  system  of  philosophy.  From  the  very 
1  Proceedings  of  Mass.  Hist.  Soc,  January,  1890,  p.  219. 


1839.         ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE  LIFE.  23 

first  recitation  it  became  exceedingly  interesting  to  me,  and 
I  have  never  yet  found  it  dry  or  irksome." 

Of  the  surpassing  excellence  of  the  Cambridge  Law  School 
at  this  period,  and  of  the  high  professional  spirit  there  fos- 
tered, Dana  always  spoke  with  warm  admiration.  Of  some 
of  the  young  men  then  associated  with  him  he  a  year  or  two 
later  wrote  as  follows  :  — 

The  most  successful  speech  made  at  the  school  dur- 
ing the  whole  time  I  was  there,  was  made  before  a 
jury  of  under-graduates,  Judge  Story  on  the  bench, 
by  Wm.  M.  Evarts.  A  law  argument  which  he  in- 
troduced into  it,  addressed  to  the  Court,  was  the  most 
complete,  systematic,  precise  and  elegantly  spoken 
law  argument  I  have  ever  yet  heard,  including 
many  arguments  of  our  most  distinguished  counsel 
before  our  highest  courts.  Evarts'  jury  argument 
was  very  well  done,  but  Wm.  Davis  of  Plymouth, 
who  was  his  opponent,  did  quite  as  well  to  the  jury. 
Evarts'  was  the  best  law  and  Davis'  the  best  jury 
argument  I  heard  in  the  school.  When  charging  the 
jury,  Judge  Story  said  he  must  rule  the  law  in  cer- 
tain points  against  the  defendant's  counsel  (Evarts) 
though  they  had  been  argued  to  him  "  in  a  manner  to 
which  I  cheerfully  do  homage."  Judge  Story  always 
complimented  liberally,  but  never  went  so  far  as  in 
this  instance.  Indeed,  Evarts  has  been  a  peculiar 
young  man  at  school,  college,  and  in  his  professional 
studies.  If  he  does  not  become  distinguished,  he  will 
disappoint  more  persons  than  any  other  young  man 
whom  I  have  ever  met  with. 

While  at  the  Law  School  Dana  was  also  instructor  in  elo- 
cution in  the  college,  having  received  the  appointment  in 
January,  1839,  declining  at  the  same  time  the  position  of 


24  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  24. 

proctor  on  the  ground  that  it  involved  a  supervision  over  the 
conduct  of  the  students.  As  instructor  in  elocution,  he  was 
the  assistant  of  his  friend  and  relative  Professor  Channing, 
whose  methods  are  still  well  remembered  by  the  students  of 
those  days.  In  after  years  Dana  had  many  anecdotes  of 
Channing  which  he  was  fond  of  telling,  and  to  one  of  them 
his  feelings  as  a  strong  churchman  not  impossibly  lent  ad- 
ditional zest.  The  students  were  declaiming  before  the  pro- 
fessor and  his  assistant,  when  the  piece  selected  by  one  of 
them  seemed  to  excite  peculiar  disapprobation  on  the  part  of 
Mr.  Channing.  For  a  time  he  simply  muttered  to  himself, 
"  Poor  stuff,  very  poor  stuff !  "  —  and  let  the  thing  pass ;  but 
presently  he  whispered  to  his  assistant,  "  What  is  this,  Rich- 
ard ?  It  is  wretched  stuff."  Without  turning  his  eyes 
from  the  declaimer,  Dana  whispered  back,  "  A  selection 
from  your  brother,  William,  sir." 

For  Professor  Channing,  Dana  always  entertained  a  most 
sincere  and  affectionate  regard,  and  later,  in  1856,  when  a 
volume  of  selections  from  his  old  instructor's  writings  was 
published,  his  former  assistant  in  elocution  furnished  for  it 
an  appreciative  biographical  notice.  This  sketch  and  little 
volume  are  indeed  about  all  that  now  remain  to  commemo- 
rate forty  years  of  professorial  labor  which  did  much  to 
influence,  not  always  for  the  best,  the  rising  literary  devel- 
opment of  New  England.  Though  his  taste  was  correct, 
the  methods  of  Professor  Channing  were  not  calculated  to 
excite  youthful  enthusiasm  for  letters  ;  and  a  generation  of 
students  carefully  taught  to  fear  and  eschew  literary  en- 
thusiasm is  not  likely  to  achieve  any  marked  degree  of 
lettered  excellence  in  life.  Men  as  a  rule  outgrow  their 
youth  fast  enough,  and  there  is  no  occasion  artificially  to 
hurry  the  process  by  a  constant  application  of  the  last  of  the 
two  precepts  which  Archbishop  Manners  Sutton  is  said  to 
have  laid  down  for  the  guidance  of  Bishop  Heber.1 

1  ' '  Place  before  your  eyes  two  precepts,  and  two  only.  One  is, 
Preach  the  g-ospel ;  and  the  other  is,  —  Put  down  enthusiasm." 


1840.         ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE  LIFE.  25 

In  February,  1840,  Dana  resigned  his  position  in  the  col- 
lege and  left  the  Law  School,  entering  the  office  of  the  late 
Charles  G.  Loring,  at  Boston,  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of 
practice. 

He  had  meanwhile  found  time  to  write  out  the  notes  of 
the  journal  which  he  had  kept  during  his  voyage.  He  must 
have  worked  hard  to  do  it,  for  not  only  was  he  earnestly 
devoting  himself  to  the  law,  but  he  was  hearing  under-grad- 
uates  rehearse  their  exhibition  parts  for  sometimes  half  a 
dozen  weary  hours  a  day.  Before  he  left  the  school  the 
manuscript  was  done,  and  he  then  read  it  to  his  father  and 
Washington  Allston.  Both  of  them  advised  its  publication. 
Dana  himself  was  now  twenty-five  years  old,  and  wished  to 
marry  ;  but  he  had  no  means,  nor  had  he  yet  been  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar.  So  far  as  his  book  was  concerned,  there- 
fore, while  he  was  sincerely  anxious  to  enlighten  the  public 
on  the  real  situation  of  seamen  in  the  merchant  marine,  he 
had  other  and  more  material  considerations  in  mind  :  should 
the  story  of  his  voyage  prove  a  literary  success,  it  would  be 
of  use  to  him  in  securing  a  share  of  maritime  practice. 

As  a  young  and  unknown  author  what  he  most  wanted 
was  a  large  sale,  and  this  he  was  advised  the  Harpers  of 
New  York  could  probably  secure  for  him  better  than  any 
other  firm.  Accordingly  he  sent  the  manuscript  to  William 
Cullen  Bryant,  an  old  friend  of  his  father's,  asking  Mr. 
Bryant,  after  looking  it  over,  to  make  an  arrangement  if 
possible  with  the  Harpers.  Then  followed  a  long,  vexatious 
negotiation,  which  left  on  Dana's  mind  a  sense  of  unfair 
treatment  that  time  only  effaced.  The  Harpers  sent  the 
manuscript  to  Alonzo  Potter,  afterwards  bishop  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, then  acting  as  one  of  their  readers,  and  Bishop  Pot- 
ter, meeting  Dana  in  England  many  years  later,  told  him 
that  he  had  advised  its  purchase  at  any  price  necessary  to 
secure  it.  Acting  on  this  recommendation,  the  Harpers 
offered  to  buy  the  work,  but  positively  refused  to  allow  the 


26  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mv.  25. 

author  an  interest  in  the  profits  or  percentage  of  the  sales. 
Both  Mr.  Bryant  and  the  elder  Dana,  who  chanced  to  be  in 
New  York,  struggled  hard  on  this  point ;  but  were  forced  to 
yield.  It  next  became  a  question  of  the  amount  to  be  paid 
for  the  manuscript.  Mr.  Bryant  suggested  $500.  The 
Harpers  offered  $250.  At  this  point  the  elder  Dana  retired 
to  Boston,  leaving  the  burden  of  farther  negotiation  with 
Mr.  Bryant,  who  finally  pleaded  hard  for  $300  ;  but  the 
Harpers  were  inflexible,  and  again  carried  their  point.  So, 
for  one  of  the  most  successful  American  books  of  the  cen- 
tury, and  the  best  book  of  its  kind  ever  written,  the  author 
received  two  dozen  printed  copies  and  $250  in  money. 

The  whole  transaction  was,  on  the  part  of  the  Harpers, 
conducted  on  hard  business  principles,  lacking  that  little  ele- 
ment of  courtesy  and  personal  consideration  to  which,  in 
view  of  the  recognized  literary  eminence  of  his  three  spon- 
sors, Allston,  Bryant  and  his  father,  the  young  author  prob- 
ably felt  himself  fairly  entitled.  Dana  was,  also,  peculiarly 
sensitive  to  haggling  treatment  of  this  sort;  which  struck 
him,  moreover,  in  marked  contrast  with  that  which  he  a  lit- 
tle later  received  from  English  publishers.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Harpers  afterwards  did  not  treat  the  copyright  as 
if  they  considered  it  of  great  value,  inasmuch  as  for  long 
periods  of  time  the  book  was  not  to  be  found  in  the  shops. 
At  last,  in  1868,  the  original  copyright  expired,  and  Dana 
then  brought  out  that  "  author's  edition,"  with  a  conclud- 
ing chapter  entitled,  "  Twenty-four  Years  Later,"  and  this 
edition  has  not  since  been  permitted  to  go  out  of  print. 

The  success  of  "  Two  Years  before  the  Mast "  was  imme- 
diate, though,  contrary  to  Dana's  understanding  and  an  ad- 
ditional cause  of  grievance,  it  appeared  only  in  the  two 
series  known  as  Harper's  Family  Library  and  the  School 
District  Library  ;  but  it  so  chanced  that  both  of  two  copies 
sent  to  England,  one  by  Charles  Sumner  and  the  other  by 
Miss  Appleton,  who  afterwards  married  the  poet  Longfel- 
low, by  a  strange  coincidence  found  their  way  to   Moxon, 


1840.         ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE  LIFE.  27 

the  London  publisher,  who  brought  out  an  English  edition, 
and  subsequently  sent  to  the  author  not  only  presentation 
copies,  but  a  sum  of  money  larger  than  the  Harpers  had 
given  him  for  his  manuscript.  Other  foreign  editions  fol- 
lowed, and  kindly  words  of  appreciation  presently  reached 
Dana  from  Rogers,  Brougham,  Moore,  Bulwer  and  Dick- 
ens ;  and  when,  a  year  later,  Lord  Morpeth  visited  this 
country,  the  young  author  of  "  Two  Years  before  the  Mast  " 
was  one  of  the  first  persons  he  asked  to  see.  Thus  Dana's 
English  reputation  exceeded  his  reputation  at  home  ;  a  fact 
keenly  appreciated  by  him.  Nor,  as  will  presently  appear, 
was  this  English  reputation  merely  ephemeral.  On  the  con- 
trary, fifteen  years  later  it  secured  him  a  social  reception 
during  the  London  season  of  1856,  which  was  probably  the 
most  agreeable  episode  of  its  kind  in  his  life. 

In  the  'summer  of  1841,  a  year  after  the  publication  of 
"  Two  Years  before  the  Mast,"  Dana  brought  out  a  second 
book,  entitled  the  "  Seaman's  Friend."  It  was  a  treatise 
on  seamanship  and  the  laws  regulating  the  relations  of  the 
ship's  company,  intended  for  practical  use  whether  on  shore 
or  afloat.  This  was  published  by  Little  &  Brown  in  a  small 
volume  of  two  hundred  and  twenty -five  pages,  and  by 
Moxon  under  the  title  of  "  Seaman's  Manual."  Written 
with  all  the  clearness  of  style  of  "  Two  Years  before  the 
Mast,"  it  had  a  considerable  sale,  and  is  still  useful  and  read- 
able ;  but  it  was  not  a  book  intended  for  wide  circulation. 

In  September,  1840,  Dana  opened  an  office  and  began  the 
practice  of  the  law.  Although  hardly  dry  from  the  press, 
his  book  was  already  in  the  hands  of  many  readers,  and 
brought  to  him  a  certain  amount  of  maritime  practice  of  a 
kind  neither  very  attractive  nor  very  profitable  ;  but  still  it 
was  practice.  In  those  days,  and  indeed  long  afterwards, 
his  office  was  apt  to  be  crowded  with  unkempt,  roughly 
dressed  seamen,  and  it  smelled  on  such  occasions  much  like  a 
forcastle ;  but  he  was  young  and  in  earnest,  and  to  a  young 
lawyer  anything    is    preferable    to  that    unbroken  waiting 


28  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt. «8. 

which  is  apt  to  mark  the  beginning  of  professional  life.  In 
Dana's  case  this  tedious  period  of  probation  was  exception- 
ally short,  if,  in  truth,  he  can  be  said  to  have  experienced 
it  at  all ;  and  so  rapid  was  his  progress  that,  having  begun 
in  September  with  a  desk  in  an  office  occupied  jointly  with 
another  person,  in  November  he  took  two  rooms  for  himself 
in  the  old  State  House  building,  and  increased  his  working 
force  by  the  addition  of  a  student. 

The  results  of  his  first  year  at  the  bar  were  so  satisfactory 
that,  though  wholly  dependent  on  himself  for  support,  Dana 
felt  justified  in  venturing  on  marriage,  he  having  for  some 
months  been  engaged  to  Miss  Sarah  Watson,  a  daughter  of 
William  Watson  of  Hartford,  Conn.  Nearly  three  years 
before,  in  the  summer  of  1839,  this  young  lady  had  visited 
Cambridge  in  company  with  her  elder  sister  and  her  mater- 
nal aunt,  Miss  Marsh,  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Marsh 
of  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  and  had  there  passed  some  time 
with  the  family  of  President  Willard,  with  whom  they 
were  on  terms  of  great  intimacy.  In  his  day  Mr.  Marsh 
had  also  been  a  valued  friend  of  old  Chief  Justice  Dana. 
The  friendship  of  the  parents  had  been  continued  by  the 
children,  and  for  a  time  after  leaving  the  Willards  Miss 
Marsh  and  her  niece  were  the  guests  of  the  Danas  at  their 
house  in  Chestnut  Street,  Boston,  where  Richard  Dana  was 
passing  his  vacation.  The  younger  people  were  naturally 
thrown  a  good  deal  together,  and  the  friendship  thus  formed 
in  due  time  ripened  into  an  engagement  of  marriage. 

Though  belonging  on  both  father's  and  mother's  sides  to 
old  and  respected  Connecticut  stock,  so  far  as  worldly  pos- 
sessions went  Miss  Watson  was  no  better  off  than  Dana 
himself,  nor  did  she  have  any  family  connection  in  Massa- 
chusetts. It  was  a  healthy,  natural  case  of  young  people  of 
slender  means  marrying  simply  because  they  were  attached 
to  each  other,  and  had  perfect  confidence  in  their  ability  to 
face  the«vorld  and  take  care  of  themselves. 

They    were   married    in    Hartford   on    the   evening    of 


1841.         ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE  LIFE.  29 

Wednesday,  August  25,  1841,  and  the  next  day  started  for 
Boston.  After  spending  one  week  in  Rockport  they  returned 
to  Boston  and  work  early  in  September,  establishing  them- 
selves in  permanent  quarters  at  the  United  States  Hotel. 
"  Our  parlor,"  as  Dana  wrote,  **  is  in  the  third  story,  south- 
east corner,  and  has  a  beautiful  view  of  the  harbor,  and  of 
the  country  round  Milton,  Dorchester  and  Roxbury.  At 
night  we  see  both  the  light-houses." 

Dana  at  this  time  began  to  keep  a  journal,  a  practice  in 
which  he  persevered  more  or  less  regularly  until  the  year 
1859.  As  he  became  engaged  in  the  severe  professional 
work  of  a  lawyer  in  full  practice,  he  found  little  time  to 
make  the  entries,  and  the  intervals  between  them  grow 
longer  and  longer ;  but  for  the  first  few  years  the  record  is 
regular  and  detailed,  and  his  quick  eye  and  power  of  vivid 
description  made  what  he  wrote  far  more  worthy  of  preser- 
vation than  is  apt  to  be  the  case  with  diaries,  which  are,  as 
a  rule,  neither  interesting  nor  agreeable  reading  when  they 
relate  to  one's  own  life,  and  become  fairly  intolerable  when 
they  relate  to  the  lives  of  others.  In  the  case  of  Dana  the 
story  of  the  succeeding  years  is  best  told  in  his  own  words. 

The  diary  begins  in  December,  1841,  a  little  more  than 
three  months  after  the  writer's  marriage,  and  the  first  en- 
try relates  to  a  dinner  at  Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence's  in  Park 
Street,  in  honor  of  Lord  Morpeth. 

The  company  all  arrive  punctually  between  quarter 
before  five  o'clock  and  five  minutes  after.  While  in 
the  room  observe  that  Sumner  now  and  then  whis- 
pers to  Lord  Morpeth  the  names  of  persons  as  they 
come  in,  and  tells  him  whether  he  has  met  them 
before.  I  was  talking  with  Lord  Morpeth,  when 
Sumner  said  in  a  low  tone,  u  That  is  Mr.  Quincy, 
—  the  tall  gentleman,  —  whom  you  have  met.  The 
other  gentleman  not,  a  Unitarian  clergyman,"  etc. 
Accordingly  Lord  M.  meets  Mr.  Quincy  half  way, 


30  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  26. 

with  "  How  do  you  do  Mr.  Quincy,"  etc.     This  is 
very  convenient. 

Among  the  company  on  this  occasion  were  Judge  Story, 
Harrison  Gray  Otis  and  George  Ticknor,  besides  Sumner 
and  Dana,  both  of  whom  then  ranked  as  younger  men. 
As  the  dinner  was  a  somewhat  exceptional  affair  Dana  made 
elaborate  notes  of  it,  and  he  was  especially  impressed  by 
Harrison  Gray  Otis,  then  the  recognized  head  of  social  life 
in  Boston. 

Mr.  Otis  was  in  his  best  vein,  and  we  young  men 
could  easily  believe  that  he  had  been  in  his  prime 
the  best  conversationalist  in  the  land.  Judge  Story 
talked  more,  but  tediously  and  without  the  variety, 
brilliancy  and  tact  of  Otis.  Otis  never  speaks  a 
word  without  having  the  attention  of  the  whole 
table.  Indeed,  as  soon  as  a  word  comes  from  him, 
all  stop  speaking.  He  addresses  his  conversation  to 
all,  and  has  something  which  will  take  the  attention 
of  each.  Hardly  a  person  present  whom  he  does  not 
bring  in,  and  in  a  complimentary  manner.  Judge 
Story  argued  like  a  lawyer  and  prosed  like  a  book- 
worm. Otis  never  forgot  that  he  was  a  gentleman 
dining  out.  .  .  .  Lord  Morpeth  kept  clear  of  Ameri- 
can politics,  and  would  say  nothing  unfavorable  of 
our  country,  —  even  of  our  repudiation.  There  was 
plenty  of  high  conservatism  talked,  and  by  no  one 
more  than  by  Judge  Story,  who  began  life  a  radical. 

December  18.  Went  with  S.  to  hear  Braham. 
Very  grand  and  very  touching.  He  sang  Luther's 
Judgment  Hymn  with  a  power  that  was  stupendous. 
I  could  not  conceive  of  the  human  voice  as  being 
capable  of  such  compass  of  sound.  In  the  opening 
to  the  Creation   he  was  accompanied  by  trombones 


1842.         ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE  LIFE.  31 

and  trumpets.  There  was  a  choir  of  fifty,  and  a  full 
band  with  an  organ.  What  grandeur  and  majesty  in 
the  effect!  Nothing  takes  us  out  of  ourselves,  our 
every-day  sphere,  so  completely  as  music. 

1842.  January  18.  Nothing  talked  of  but  Dickens' 
arrival.  The  town  is  mad.  All  calling  on  him.  I 
shan't  go  unless  sent  for.  I  can't  submit  to  sink  the 
equality  of  a  gentleman  by  crowding  after  a  man  of 
note. 

26.  Letter  from  T.  Col  ley  G  rattan  ("  High-ways 
and  By-ways")  saying  that  Dickens  wishes  to  see 
me,  and  is  surprised  that  I  have  not  called  before, 
and  fixing  two  P.  M.  for  a  call.  At  two  P.  M.  call  at 
Tremont  House  and  am  told  that  he  is  engaged. 
Send  up  name  and  am  shown  up.  Kept  disengaged 
on  purpose  to  see  Longfellow  and  myself.  Talk  a 
few  minutes  when  Longfellow  comes  in  with  Sumner. 
Disappointed  in  D.'s  appearance.  We  have  heard 
him  called  "  the  handsomest  man  in  London,"  etc. 
He  is  of  the  middle  height  (under  if  anything),  with 
a  large,  expressive  eye,  regular  nose,  matted,  curling, 
wet-looking  black  hair,  a  dissipated  looking  mouth 
with  a  vulgar  draw  to  it,  a  muddy  olive  complexion, 
stubby  fingers,  and  a  hand  by  no  means  patrician,  a 
hearty,  off-hand  maimer  far  from  well-bred,  and  a 
rapid,  dashing  way  of  talking.  He7  looks  "wide 
awake,"  "  up  to  everything,"  full  of  cleverness,  with 
quick  feelings  and  great  ardor.  You  admire  him, 
and  there  is  a  fascination  about  him  which  keeps 
your  eyes  on  him,  yet  you  cannot  get  over  the  im- 
pression that  he  is  a  low-bred  man.  Tom  Appleton 
says,  "  Take  the  genius  out  of  his  face,  and  there 
are  a  thousand  young  London  shop-keepers  about  the 
theatres  and  eating-houses   who    look  exactly  like 


32  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  26. 

him."  He  has  what  I  suppose  to  be  the  true  Cockney 
cut. 

He  inquires  for  father,  and  wonders  he  has  not 
been  to  see  him.  Offers  to  call  on  him  if  he  is  un- 
well. 

27.  Dine  with  Dickens  at  F.  C.  Gray's.  Pres- 
ent, Prescott  (Ferdinand  and  Isabella),  Sparks 
(Life  of  Washington),  Mr.  Ticknor,  C.  P.  Curtis, 
Alexander,  etc.  Like  Dickens  here  very  much. 
The  gentlemen  are  talking  their  best,  but  Dickens  is 
perfectly  natural  and  unpretending.  He  could  not 
have  behaved  better.  He  did  not  say  a  single  thing 
for  display.  I  should  think  he  had  resolved  to  talk 
as  he  would  at  home,  and  let  his  reputation  take  care 
of  itself.  He  gave  a  capital  description  of  Abbots- 
ford.  It  was  enough  to  make  you  cry.  He  de- 
scribed the  hat  Scott  wore  in  his  last  illness,  and  the 
dents  and  bruises  there  wrere  in  it  from  his  head  fail- 
ing against  his  chair  when  he  lost  the  power  of  his 
muscles.  It  was  heart-sickening.  "And  to  think  of 
a  man's  killing  himself  for  such  a  miserable  place  as 
Abbotsford  is,"  adds  Dickens. 

C.  P.  Curtis  asks  him  if  there  were  any  such 
magistrates  in  London  as  Fang  in  "  Oliver  Twist." 
Dickens  says,  "  One  just  such,  and  many  more  like 
him,"  and  tells  us  that  his  Fang  is  a  portrait  of  a 
magistrate  named  Tang,  who  was  sitting  when  the 
book  appeared,  and  that  he  was  removed  by  the 
Home  Department  in  ten  weeks  after  the  publica- 
tion, upon  a  thorough  inquiry.  .   .  . 

Poor  Sumner  can't  take  a  joke  of  any  kind.  He 
is  as  literal  as  a  Scotch  guide-board.  Ticknor  is  a 
thorough  man,  —  armed  at  all  points  with  informa- 
tion, and  using  it  with  great  readiness.  .  .  . 


1842.         ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE  LIFE.  33 

February  1.  The  great  "  Dickens  dinner."  Jo- 
siah  Quincy,  Jr.,  presides,  and  capitally.  Excellent 
speeches.  Hillard  is  fervid  and  interesting,  though 
a  little  overdone  as  usual,  yet  eloquent  and  touching. 
Bancroft  is  heated,  intense,  striking,  yet  long-winded, 
wandering,  and  out  of  temper.  Stevenson  is  amus- 
ing. Edward  G.  Loring,  commonplace  in  a  very  re- 
spectable and  rather  elevated  way.  Grattan  decent. 
Mr.  Quincy  (senior)  very  well  indeed.  Mr.  Allston's 
toast  went  off  famously.  Dickens  spoke  excellently. 
I  never  heard  a  speech  which  went  off  better.  He 
speaks  naturally,  with  a  good  voice,  beautiful  intona- 
tions, and  an  ardent,  generous  manner.  It  is  the 
speaking  of  a  man  who  is  no  orator,  but  says  what 
he  wishes  to  say  in  a  manner  natural  and  unprac- 
tised. Grattan  called  me  out.  I  thought  it  might 
happen,  and  was  partially  prepared.  The  audience 
thought  that  I  was  taken  by  surprise,  and  I  got  more 
credit  than  I  deserved. 

February  5.  Called  on  Dickens  at  10.30  A.  M.  by 
appointment,  as  he  leaves  at  one.  He  was  at  break- 
fast. Sat  down  with  him.  He  was  very  agreeable 
and  full  of  life.  He  is  the  cleverest  man  I  ever  met. 
I  mean  he  impresses  you  more  with  the  alertness  of 
his  various  powers.  His  forces  are  all  light  infantry 
and  light  cavalry,  and  always  in  marching  order. 
There  are  not  many  heavy  pieces,  but  few  sappers 
and  miners,  the  scientific  corps  is  deficient,  and  I  fear 
there  is  no  chaplain  in  the  garrison. 

Mrs.  Dickens  appears  to  be  an  excellent  woman. 
She  is  natural  in  her  manners,  seems  not  at  all  elated 
by  her  new  position,  but  rests  upon  a  foundation  of 
good  sense  and  good  feeling. 

April  2.     Left  the  United  States  Hotel  and  came 


34  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.2Q. 

to  Roxbury  to  spend  the  summer.  Board  with  Mrs. 
Atkins  in  Cedar  Street.  She  is  a  widow,  who  lost 
her  husband  in  less  than  a  year  after  marriage.  She 
is  melancholy,  but  of  an  excellent,  unaffected  charac- 
ter and  religious  feeling  and  experience.  This  situa- 
tion is  extremely  pleasant,  being  amidst  rocks  and 
cedars  and  quite  retired. 

April  17.  Sunday.  Sermon  at  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  from  Rev.  Thomas  Lavvrie,  missionary 
to  Syria.  Subject,  "  Abraham's  offering  up  Isaac." 
This  is  the  first  sermon  that  ever  brought  tears  into 
my  eyes.  I  am  easy  to  shed  tears  over  a  book,  or 
upon  any  event  in  life  when  thinking  it  over  alone, 
but  no  speaker  ever  brought  them  into  my  eyes  be- 
fore. It  was  only  for  an  instant.  No  one  would 
have  perceived  it.  It  was  at  the  words  "  his  mes- 
sage home  to  his  mother,"  when  describing  the  last 
words  of  Isaac.  It  was  more  the  simplicity,  sincer- 
ity, and  unaffected  deep  feeling  of  the  preacher  to- 
gether with  his  innocence  of  all  rhetoric  that  pro- 
duced the  effect. 

Though  Roxbury  was  then  a  quiet  country  town  almost 
remote  from  Boston,  a  summer  life  in  it  afforded  Dana  no 
relief  from  business  and  office  cares.  Accordingly  when  at 
midsummer  the  vacation  time  arrived,  feeling  somewhat  the 
worse  from  hard  work  in  hot  weather,  he  determined  to 
take  a  short  trip  to  the  British  provinces  on  one  of  the 
Cunard  steamers,  which  had  then  been  running  to  and  fro 
between  Liverpool  and  Boston,  stopping  always  at  Halifax, 
for  two  years.  Of  this  trip  he  wrote  as  he  went  along  a 
most  minute  account,  which  is  still  interesting  from  its 
graphic  description  of  persons,  incidents  and  places. 

July  16.  Saturday.  Being  completely  run  down 
by  fatigue  from  warm  weather  and  hard  work,  deter- 


1842.         ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE  LIFE.  35 

mined  to  make  a  trip  to  Halifax,  solely  to  change  the 
scene,  to  get  away  from  the  care  and  toil  of  business, 
to  relax  my  mind  completely,  and  to  get  upon  salt 
■water  once  more. 

Set  sail,  or  made  steam,  at  five  P.  M.  in  the  steam- 
ship Caledonia  bound  to  Halifax  and  Liverpool.  .  .  . 

Baggage  on  board,  business  left  with  Ned  and  Mr. 
Peck,  fine  afternoon,  a  noble  vessel  filled  with  pas- 
sengers, and  we  are  off  for  Halifax.  Among  the 
passengers  are  Mr.  Chas.  Lyell,  the  geologist,  Frank- 
lin Dexter,  United  States  District  Attorney  for 
Massachusetts,  a  gentleman  of  high  spirit,  elegant 
accomplishments  and  manners,  on  a  tour  for  the 
same  purposes  with  myself,  and  Mr.  David  Eckley 
of  Boston,  merchant,  on  a  fishing  expedition.  Also, 
Mile.  Fanny  Ellsler,  the  celebrated  opera  dancer,  and 
her  attendant  Mme.  Wychoff.  We  (Mr.  Dexter 
and  I)  made  the  acquaintance  of  Geo.  R.  Young, 
a  lawyer  of  Halifax,  who  was  on  board,  and  who 
treated  us  with  great  civility. 

No  sooner  had  we  got  outside  of  the  light-house 
and  the  cool,  salt  night  wind  of  ocean  came  over  us 
than  I  felt  myself  a  new  creature.  It  was  damp  and 
a  little  foggy,  but  I  stayed  on  deck  until  nearly  one 
o'clock  on  Sunday  morning,  walking  to  and  fro  and 
snuffing  up  the  breeze  and  offering  my  whole  system 
to  its  invigorating  influence.  I  was  on  deck  again 
before  sunrise,  and  walked  deck  until  breakfast  time, 
which  was  nine  o'clock.  .  .  . 

On  Monday  morning  we  were  off  Cape  Sable,  and 
before  noon  were  going  up  Halifax  Harbor.  There 
was  a  set  of  young  men  on  board  who  very  early  at- 
tracted my  attention.  They  were  tall  and  well-made, 
with  easy,  natural  manners,  polite  to  all,  but  keeping 


36  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  J£t.  26. 

rather  by  themselves,  and  dressed  in  the  roughest 
travelling  clothes.  I  soon  learned  that  they  were 
men  of  birth,  and  one  of  them  a  nobleman,  Lord 
Herries.  The  handsomest  of  them,  and  a  darling 
fellow  he  was,  was  Charles  Sheridan,  grandson  of 
Richard  Sheridan,  and  brother  of  Lady  Seymour. 
Tall,  straight,  with  well-formed  limbs,  full  of  activ- 
ity and  spirit,  dressed  in  a  sailor's  hat,  jacket  and 
trousers,  but  with  a  decidedly  genteel  air,  he  seemed 
the  very  impersonation  of  youthful  health  and  spirit. 
Another  of  the  set  was  Baron  Geyle,  a  young  Ger- 
man nobleman,  and  Mr.  Adams,  late  of  one  of  the 
English  South  American  embassies.  Sheridan  found 
me  out  as  the  author  of  "Two  Years,"  and  I  was 
soon  in  their  company.  We  talked  politics  a  little, 
and  I  had  hard  work  to  defend  my  country.  The 
African  slave-trade,  our  own  slavey,  repudiation, 
loco-focoism,  the  Rhode  Island  rebellion,  encouraged 
by  the  chief  magistrates  of  other  states,  etc.,  the  rule 
of  faction,  removals  from  office  for  party  purposes, 
availability,  etc.,  they  were  familiar  with,  and  so  was 
I.  I  had  nothing  to  say.  A  New  York  radical  was 
present,  and  he  said,  among  other  things,  that  all  our 
office-holders  were  the  servants  of  the  majority,  and 
that  if  a  customs  officer  or  a  postmaster  charged  him 
more  than  he  thought  he  ought  to,  or  refused  to  ac- 
commodate him,  he  had  only  to  say  to  him,  "  Sir,  rec- 
ollect I  meet  you  at  the  polls."  I  denounced  this 
doctrine,  and  told  the  Englishman  that  it  was  a  speci- 
men of  those  principles  which  threatened  us  harm, 
but  that  there  was  a  sound  conservatism  in  the  people 
which  would  save  us.  Thereupon  the  radical  replied 
that  I  was  in  favor  of  aristocracy  and  conservatism, 
and  the  reason  was  because  I  belonged   to  an  old 


1842.         ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE  LIFE.  37 

family,  known  in  the  history  of  the  country,  and 
wished  to  see  family  privileges.  His  politeness  was 
only  to  be  equalled  by  his  principles.  .  .  . 

July  22.  Took  leave  of  Halifax,  its  citadel,  its 
barracks,  the  basin,  the  York  redoubt,  as  we  went 
down  the  harbor.  The  object  of  my  visit  had  been 
answered.  I  had  cleared  my  mind  completely  from 
business  and  cares,  and  by  complete  relaxation,  with 
out-door  exercises,  had  restored  the  healthful  and  ac- 
tive tone  of  my  system.  I  had  refused  all  invitations 
to  public  places,  to  dinners,  parties,  etc.,  and  none  of 
us  delivered  our  letters  of  introduction,  for  we  found 
that  we  could  not  go  fishing  all  day,  and  then,  sun- 
burnt, tired  and  blackened,  dress  for  a  party  in  the 
evening.  I  had  resolutely  kept  from  books,  and  al- 
though I  had  books  in  my  trunk  and  many  leisure 
hours,  yet  I  made  a  principle  of  not  looking  at  them, 
and  loafed  or  walked  about  the  streets  or  slept  instead. 
Every  morning  before  breakfast  I  walked  either  over 
the  citadel,  which  was  the  grandest  fortification  I 
ever  saw,  with  a  fine  commanding  situation,  or  to 
the  Government  House,  or  barracks. 

We  were  no  sooner  round  the  point  and  out  upon 
the  deep  sea  than  the  wind  blew  very  heavily,  and  a 
violent  sea  arose.  Nearly  all  the  passengers  were 
sick,  and  one  of  them,  Mr.  Eustis  Prescott,  who  had 
been  my  fellow-passenger  from  Boston  and  was  now 
going  to  Liverpool,  Nova  Scotia,  told  me  that  he  had 
crossed  the  Atlantic  frequently,  but  had  never  lost  a 
meal  from  sea-sickness  before.  The  worse  the  weather 
the  better  I  felt,  and  having  clothes  suited  for  all 
weathers  I  remained  on  deck  nearly  all  the  time, 
walking  to  and  fro,  and  enjoying  the  consciousness  of 
health,  strength  and  activity,  increased  by  the  bra- 


38  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  26. 

cing  sea  air,  and  heightened  by  the  contrast  pre- 
sented by  those  about  me. 

After  tea,  and  about  ten  P.  M.,  we  touched  at  Lunen- 
burg, and  landed  and  took  off  a  few  passengers.  .  .  . 

July  23.  Saturday.  Arrived  at  Liverpool  about 
seven  A.  M.  As  we  were  to  stay  an  hour,  went  ashore 
and  walked  through  the  town.  The  town  is  built 
upon  a  single  street  running  by  the  side  of  the  river, 
winding  along,  and  the  houses  have  pretty  garden  spots 
before  or  by  the  side  of  them,  and  are  painted,  neat 
and  comfortable  in  appearance.  It  is  quite  a  pretty 
village  of  about  2,000  inhabitants,  I  should  judge. 

Stood  out  again  to  sea,  bound  for  Shelburne. 
About  three  o'clock  stood  up  Shelburne  Bay.  This 
bay  is  said  to  be  the  best  in  Nova  Scotia,  being  very 
extensive,  deep  and  surrounded  by  well-wooded  coun- 
try in  many  parts.  The  town  of  Shelburne  is  sit- 
uated at  the  extreme  end  of  the  bay,  and  presents  a 
remarkable  instance  of  decay.  It  was  founded  by  a 
large  company  of  royalists  who  fled  from  the  United 
States  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  '75,  and  who 
selected  this  site  on  account  of  the  excellence  of  the 
harbor.  Here  they  built  a  town,  planted  farms,  built 
vessels,  and  engaged  largely  in  privateering,  the  car- 
rying trade,  and  other  modes  of  active  industry  by 
land  and  sea.  There  being  a  good  deal  of  wealth 
among  them,  the  town  was  handsomely  built,  and 
large  capital  was  embarked  and  set  in  motion.  For 
many  years  the  town  grew  and  flourished,  but  the 
general  peace  which  followed  the  battle  of  Waterloo 
threw  it  upon  its  regular  legitimate  resources  for 
trade  in  times  of  peace ;  and  from  that  time  the 
downward  progress  of  the  place  has  been  uninter- 
rupted.    The  reasons  for  this   were  that  it  has  no 


1842.         ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE  LIFE.  39 

back  country  to  support  it,  and  for  which  it  would  be 
the  natural  market  and  seaport,  for  it  is  situated  at 
the  end  of  the  peninsula  of  Nova  Scotia,  with  Halifax 
above  it  to  cut  off  its  commerce  ;  and  because  it  lies 
so  far  up  the  bay  that  it  is  little  used  as  a  port  of 
supplies  or  a  fishing  station.  In  fact,  the  world 
seems  to  have  given  it  the  go-by  entirely.  Witli  as 
beautiful  a  harbor  as  the  face  of  the  globe  can  show, 
and  with  large  capital  to  assist  it,  it  stands  as  a 
warning  to  all  who  disregard  the  regular  course  of 
things  in  the  affairs  of  men  and  attempt  to  counter- 
act it  by  particular  and  local  efforts.  As  we  steered 
slowly  up  the  bay  the  captain  of  the  boat  told  me 
that  its  shores  had  once  been  lined  with  beautiful 
farms,  and  that  the  forlorn,  unpainted  houses  which 
stood  here  and  there  without  a  fence  near  them  or 
any  signs  of  cultivation,  and  used  as  the  dwellings  of 
fishermen,  were  once  the  abodes  of  substantial  farm- 
ers who  tilled  their  acres,  supplied  the  town,  and  sent 
their  produce  to  other  countries.  He  said,  too,  that 
as  fast  as  the  older  and  more  wealthy  men  died  off 
or  left,  their  houses  were  taken  to  pieces,  exported, 
and  put  up  again  in  other  places,  and  that  in  this  way 
all  the  best  part  of  the  town  had  been  gradually 
moved  off.  This  accounted  for  the  fact  that  in  a 
town  which  had  diminished  to  one  quarter  of  its  size 
within  twenty  years  there  should  be  no  ruinous  large 
houses.  Throughout  this  wide  sheet  of  water,  spread- 
ing out  like  a  large  inland  lake,  not  a  sail  nor  a  mov- 
ing craft  was  to  be  seen.  Had  we  been  its  discoverers 
we  could  not  have  gone  over  in  more  perfect  stillness. 
As  we  drew  nigh  the  town  we  saw  a  single  vessel,  a 
little  fishing  schooner,  lying  at  anchor  off  the  wharves, 
while  rotting  by  the  side  of  the  wharves,  themselves 


40  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  26. 

decaying  as  rapidly,  lay  two  small  vessels,  condemned 
for  old  age.  We  rang  our  bell  as  we  made  fast  to  the 
wharf,  and  its  echoes  awaked  the  dead  stillness  about 
us  like  the  fire  bell  at  night.  The  persons  who  came 
down  to  the  wharf  were  children  or  old  women.  I 
believe  but  one  or  two  men  came,  and  they  seemed 
decrepit  and  laid  on  the  shelf.  As  we  were  to  stay 
here  a  half  hour,  I  went  ashore  to  walk  about  this 
singular  place.  As  the  captain  had  told  me,  there 
was  not  a  large  house  in  the  town  ;  they  had  all  been 
moved  off,  and  the  cellars  under  them  had  gradually 
filled  up  and  been  grown  over  with  grass.  The  streets 
could  not  be  distinguished  except  by  the  lines  of 
houses,  as  carriage  way  and  sidewalk  were  alike  grown 
over  with  grass.  Not  a  vehicle  of  any  description 
was  in  motion,  nor  was  there  the  sound  of  a  black- 
smith's hammer  nor  of  the  carpenter's  axe  in  the 
place,  but  the  dead  stillness  of  a  Jewish  Sabbath 
reigned  over  the  whole  region.  Excepting  the  inim- 
itable accumulation  of  images  of  decay  in  the  last 
chapter  of  Ecclesiastes,  and  part  of  Burke's  descrip- 
tion of  the  Carnatic,  I  know  of  nothing  in  descriptive 
literature  which  the  sight  of  this  place  called  to  my 
mind.  The  doors  were  indeed  shut  in  the  streets,  the 
pitcher  broken  at  the  fountain,  and  the  wheel  broken 
at  the  cistern.  As  we  walked  through  the  deserted 
streets,  carefully  laid  out  at  right  angles,  hardly  a 
person  rose  up  at  the  footsteps  of  strangers,  and  half 
a  dozen  men,  strangers,  walking  about  on  a  Saturday 
afternoon,  hardly  drew  a  face  to  the  window,  or 
brought  a  boy  or  girl  to  the  door.  No  trade  or  occu- 
pation of  industry  of  any  description  seemed  to  be 
carried  forward,  nor  was  there  a  house  of  entertain- 
ment or  a  shop  in  the  entire  settlement.     In  one  win- 


1842.         ENTRANCE  INTO  ACTIVE  LIFE.  41 

dovv  we  observed  some  thread,  papers  of  pins,  and  a 
few  weather-stained  articles,  but  the  door-step  was 
almost  inaccessible,  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  one  in 
the  room. 

The  ringing  of  the  second  bell  called  us  aboard, 
and  we  cast  off  from  this  paralyzed  village  without 
having  landed  or  taken  on  board  a  single  passenger. 
The  captain  said  he  should  represent  to  the  company 
the  expense  and  waste  of  time  in  coming  up  this  long 
bay,  and  see  if  they  would  not  dispense  with  these 
formal  visits. 

The  dress  of  the  people  we  saw  was  very  anti- 
quated and  strange,  and  the  stillness  of  the  place 
seemed  to  have  crept  over  the  spirits  of  the  inhabit- 
ants. I  should  hardly  have  been  surprised  had  I 
been  told  that  the  children  were  deaf  and  dumb. 

The  bay  looked  beautifully  as  we  steamed  down 
it,  toward  sunset,  and  we  rounded  the  point  and  were 
out  upon  the  ocean  before  nightfall. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EARLY  LIFE   AT  THE  BAE. 

The  following  letter  written  by  Dana,  shortly  after  his 
return  from  his  Nova  Scotia  trip  to  his  wife's  brother-in-law, 
the  Rev.  Oliver  Ellsworth  Daggett  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  is 
still  not  without  its  value.  Political  feeling  then  ran  high, 
for  John  Tyler  had  gone  over  to  the  Democrats,  and  yet 
Webster  continued  to  hold  his  seat  in  the  Cabinet,  from 
which  all  his  Whig  associates  had  withdrawn  in  obedience 
to  the  behests  of  their  recognized  party  leader,  Henry  Clay. 
Webster  felt  his  isolation  keenly,  and  in  defence  of  his 
course  had  made  that  speech  in  Faneuil  Hall  on  the  30th 
of  September  in  which  he  propounded  his  famous  query, 
*  If  you  break  up  the  Whig  party,  where  am  I  to  go  ?" 

The  letter  not  only  breathes  the  political  excitement  and 
admiration  of  Webster  which  then  pervaded  Boston,  but  it 
also  sheds  some  rather  interesting  light  on  Dana's  profes- 
sional success  as  measured  by  his  income.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  those  were  days  of  comparatively  simple 
habits,  and  a  professional  income  of  $2,500  a  year  seemed 
much  larger  then  than  now  ;  yet  as  the  fruits  of  a  second 
year  at  the  bar  it  would  to-day  in  Boston,  or  indeed  in  New 
York  or  in  London  for  that  matter,  be  looked  upon  as  an 
exceptional  success.  The  lectures  referred  to  in  the  closing 
paragraph  of  the  letter  were  two,  "  The  Sources  of  Influ- 
ence," and  "  American  Loyalty,"  which  Dana  had  prepared 
while  in  the  Law  School  for  delivery  before  the  lyceums 
of  towns  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston.  The  income  de- 
rived from  this  source  was  not  large,  but  the  experience  was 


1842.  EARLY  LIFE  AT   THE  BAR.  43 

worth  something,  for  the  lecturer  was  brought  in  close  con- 
tact with  popular  audiences  :  — 

Boston,  October  3,  1842. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  am  sending  you  Webster's  speech 
at  Faneuil  Hall,  and  cannot  forbear  asking  you  to 
read  it,  and  let  your  wife  and  Mary  and  Mrs.  Watson 
and  the  ladies  at  Wethersfield  read  it  also,  for  I  fear 
they  have  been  a  little  tainted  by  the  talkers  about 
party  and  Clay  and  political  ability,  etc. 

Webster  seems  to  me  to  be  the  only  statesman  in 
the  country.  By  the  side  of  him,  all  the  rest  appear 
mere  push-pin  politicians  or  else  visionaries. 

The  printed  speech  will  give  you  but  a  faint  idea 
of  it.  You  can't  put  Webster  into  print  any  more 
than  you  can  put  him  into  my  coat  and  waistcoat. 
The  speech  has  produced  a  tremendous  excitement 
here,  we  have  never  had  anything  more  astounding 
and  unexpected  in  the  political  line.  Yet  it  is  a 
speech  powerful  to  the  edifying  of  statesmanship, 
•patriotism,  and  national  honor,  and  to  the  confusion 
of  small  party  politics  and  president-making. 

All  sound,  conservative,  honorable  men,  who  are 
not  already  committed  too  far  to  be  impartial,  are 
encouraged  and  gladdened.  Those  who  heard  the 
speech  —  friends  and  foes,  contents  and  malcontents 
—  all  say  it  was  prodigious.  Words  and  emphases, 
gestures  and  expressions  of  countenance,  which  are 
lost  in  print,  brought  forth  acclamations  with  the  cer- 
tainty and  instantaneousness  of  an  echo.  It  was  a 
tremendous  blow.  Every  paragraph  and  every  sen- 
tence told.  I  could  not  go  ;  but  Ned  and  Mr.  Peck 
have  been  off  their  legs  ever  since.  Mr.  Peck  thinks 
he  may  depart  in  peace  having  seen  the  glory  of  a 
great  man  in  his  greatest  action. 


44  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.27. 

To  appreciate  the  effect  you  must  know  that  the 
leading  Whig  papers  (of  the  Clay  party,  I  mean) 
had  been  calling  upon  Webster  to  resign,  and  that 
the  kt  Atlas,  "  our  foremost  Clay  paper,  had  that  very 
morning  predicted  that  Webster  would  take  this  oc- 
casion to  abandon  the  government  publicly  and  fall 
into  opposition,  and  denounced  terrible  things  if  he 
did  not. 

The  prevailing  impression  upon  those  who  heard 
Webster,  was  of  a  noble  spectacle  of  intellectual  and 
personal  grandeur  and  loftiness.  As  a  friend  of  mine 
said :  M  There  was  no  chance  for  anything  small, 
anywhere  near  him." 

' '  Deep  on  his  front  engraven 
Deliberation  sat  and  public  care  ; 
And  princely  counsel  in  his  face  yet  shone, 
.     Majestic  .  .  .  sage  he  stood 

With  Atlantean  shoulders  fit  to  bear." 


Ned  says  that  "  a  sublime  sadness "  sat  upon  his 
countenance. 

You  will  excuse  my  saying  so  much  about  this 
speech  ;  but  nothing  else  is  talked  of  among  us.  You 
will  observe  that  there  is  not  a  single  ornament  or 
flourish  of  rhetoric  in  the  whole. 

When  I  was  in  Hartford,  you  asked  me  about  my 
income,  etc.  I  have  since  heard  that  there  is  a  re- 
port there  that  I  am  making  a  fortune.  It  is  very 
bad  to  have  such  reports,  as  they  lead  persons  to 
expect  things  of  one  which  he  cannot  do,  and  which 
his  not  doing  may  make  prejudicial  to  him  in  their 
estimation.  I  have  just  closed  my  accounts  and  tell 
you  (that  you  may  set  any  one  right  who  has  such  a 
notion,   without   giving    the    particulars   however  of 


1842.  EARLY  LIFE  AT   THE  BAR.  45 

course)  just  how  they  stand.  The  net  profits  of  my 
business  for  the  year  ending  October  1,  1842,  have 
been  $2,138.  My  expenses  have  been  but  a  few  dol- 
lars short  of  $1,600.  I  have  also  made  a  little  less 
than  $200  by  lectures  and  articles,  which  are  not  in- 
cluded in  my  business.  My  expenses  next  year  will, 
of  course,  be  larger,  by  at  least  one  quarter,  than  the 
past  year.  This  is  the  extent  of  the  fortune  I  have 
been  making. 

1843.  January  26.  Lectured  in  the  evening  at 
Brighton.  Was  introduced  to  the  audience  as 
"'Squire  Dany  from  Boston."  The  president  also 
gave  the  audience  notice  that  "  a  reformed  drunkard, 
a  New  York  woodsawyer,  named  Haddock,  and  an 
odd  fish,  with  one  eye,  and  lame,"  would  address  the 
people  upon  the  subject  of  total  abstinence.  I  dare 
say  that  there  was  more  curiosity  to  hear  him  than 
to  hear  my  lecture  upon  "The  Sources  of  Influence." 
They  attended  well,  however,  but  not  one  word  was 
said  to  me  when  I  got  through.  Either  they  did  not 
like  me,  or  did  not  know  what  to  think.  I  did  not 
speak  with  much  faith,  as  my  subject  was  abstract, 
and  they  seemed  to  be  the  most  illiterate  audience  I 
had  yet  seen.  They  had  no  one  to  take  my  horse, 
and  none  of  the  usual  civilities  extended  to  a  lecturer. 

February  2.  Rode  to  Milton  to  lecture  in  the 
evening.  A  clear,  cold  night,  and  I  in  an  open 
sleigh.  Went  to  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Campbell,  where 
my  classmate,  Dr.  C.  «C.  Holmes,  is  boarding  with  his 
newly  married  wife.  Hence  to  the  lecture- room. 
Two  small  hard-coal  stoves,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
desk  at  which  I  stood,  with  a  pipe  running  over  my 
head,  and  a  malignant  heat  coming  from  them,  beat- 
ing upon  my  brain,  which  to  a  person  just  from  the 


46  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  27. 

cold  was  particularly  stupefying.  Gave  the  lecture 
upon  "  American  Loyalty."  After  I  had  done,  a 
great  many  persons  came  up  to  me  and  expressed 
their  hearty  concurrence  in  its  doctrines  and  their 
gratification  at  hearing  them  uttered. 

In  1843  these  lecturing  trips  were  extended  to  Portland, 
Providence,  New  Haven,  and  Brooklyn;  and  in  1844  to 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Washington.  But  as  law  prac- 
tice increased  they  were  discontinued,  and  by  1845  had 
wholly  ceased.  None  the  less  Dana  was  still  the  common 
sailor's  lawyer,  and  his  earnest  advocacy  of  his  clients'  cause 
subjected  him  at  times  to  slights  and  annoyance. 

1842.  December  14.  I  had  sued  Captain  Perkins 
and  his  brother  the  mate  of  the  bark  Clarissa  Per- 
kins for  assaulting  two  seamen  named  Singleton  and 
Parsons.  Singleton  is  likely  to  die  of  his  wounds, 
so  I  made  complaint,  and  had  the  captain  bound  over 
criminally.  I  was  obliged  to  do  this  because  the  dis- 
trict attorney  declined  acting.  I  can  conceive  of  no 
reason  except  that  in  arguing  against  Bryant  he  got 
his  feelings  settled  in  favor  of  the  officers.  Dehon, 
who  defended  Perkins,  alluded  to  my  forwardness  in 
urging  the  complaint  against  the  master  as  an  inter- 
ference. I  took  him  to  task  for  this,  and  we  had  a 
long  talk  which  resulted  in  my  feeling  more  affection 
and  respect  for  Dehon  than  before.  He  is  a  good 
fellow  and  has  honorable  feelings. 

I  often  have  a  good  deal  to  contend  with  in  the 
slurs  or  open  opposition  of  masters  and  owners  of 
vessels  whose  seamen  I  undertake  to  defend  or  look 
after.  It  is  more  unpleasant  when  this  is  retailed  by 
the  counsel.  Young  lawyers  are  apt  to  take  up  the 
excitement  and  prejudice  of  the  clients,  which  they 
ought  to   allay  and  keep  free  from.     I  never  have 


1842.  EARLY  LIFE   AT  THE  BAR.  47 

trouble  with  the  upper  class  of  merchants,  but  only 
with  the  small  grinding  machines  and  petty  traders 
who  save  by  small  medicine  chests  and  poor  provi- 
sions. 

The  affair  of  the  brig  Somers  occurred  at  this  time,  and, 
though  now  almost  forgotten,  at  the  moment  absorbed  pub- 
lic attention.  The  Somers  was  a  small,  swift-sailing  brig  of 
war,  belonging  to  the  United  States  navy,  of  two  hundred  and 
sixty-six  tons  measurement.  In  September,  1842,  she  was 
sent  to  the  coast  of  Africa  with  dispatches,  under  command 
of  Alexander  Slidell  Mackenzie,  a  brother  of  John  Slidell, 
afterwards  United  States  Senator  from  Louisiana,  and  of 
Mason  and  Slidell  fame  in  the  Trent  affair.  Commander 
Mackenzie  had  for  family  reasons  taken  the  name  of  an 
uncle,  and  was  at  this  time  about  forty  years  of  age,  an 
officer  of  experience  and  repute,  besides  being  favorably 
known  as  the  author  of  biographies  of  Commodores  John 
Paul  Jones  and  Oliver  Hazard  Perry.  The  Somers,  though 
pierced  for  fourteen  guns,  mounted  only  ten,  and  her  crew 
consisted  of  twelve  officers  and  one  hundred  and  eight  men, 
nearly  all  apprentice  boys  drafted  from  the  North  Caro- 
lina, then  used  as  a  naval  school  as  well  as  receiving  ship. 

Among  the  officers  was  midshipman  Philip  Spencer,  a 
son  of  John  C.  Spencer  of  New  York,  then  Secretary  of 
War  in  the  cabinet  of  Tyler.  Having  finished  her  out- 
ward voyage,  the  Somers  left  Cape  Palmas  on  the  11th  of 
November  for  New  York,  intending  to  stop  on  the  way  at 
St.  Thomas.  On  the  26th  of  November  the  details  of  a 
conspiracy  devised  by  Spencer  to  seize  the  brig,  murder  the 
officers  and  have  recourse  to  piracy,  were  communicated  to 
Commander  Mackenzie.  He  at  first  treated  the  matter 
lightly,  regarding  it  as  the  foolish  scheme  of  a  worthless, 
crack-brained  young  man  ;  but  the  other  officers  were  more 
alarmed,  and  at  their  instance  Mackenzie,  on  the  evening 
of  the  same  day,  caused  Spencer  to  be  arrested  and  put  in 


48  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  27. 

irons.  A  search  among  his  effects  brought  to  light  some 
more  or  less  compromising  memoranda,  and  on  the  28th 
of  November,  Samuel  Cromwell,  a  boatswain's  mate,  and 
Elisha  Small,  a  seaman,  were  also  put  under  arrest,  and  on 
the  30th  four  others.  Symptoms  of  sullenness,  inattention 
to  duty  and  disobedience  to  orders  now  beginning  to  appear 
among  the  crew,  the  officers  became  thoroughly  alarmed, 
and  the  commander  called  on  them  for  counsel.  An  inquiry 
was  held  on  the  30th  of  November,  and  on  the  1st  of  De- 
cember the  seven  commissioned  officers  united  in  signing  a 
formal  document  recommending  the  immediate  execution  of 
Spencer,  Cromwell  and  Small,  on  the  ground  that  "  it  would 
be  impossible  to  carry  them  to  the  United  States,  and  that 
the  safety  of  the  public  property,  the  lives  of  ourselves  and 
of  those  committed  to  our  charge,  requires  that  they  should 
be  put  to  death." 

Commander  Mackenzie  concurred  in  this  recommenda- 
tion, and  on  the  1st  of  December  the  three  prisoners  were 
hung  at  the  yard-arm.  The  Somers  was  then  525  miles 
distant  from  St.  Thomas,  at  which  place  she  arrived  on  the 
5th  of  December  and  thence  sailed  immediately  for  New 
York. 

That  some  sort  of  a  conspiracy  to  seize  the  vessel  had 
existed  among  a  portion  of  the  crew  was  proven ;  and  it 
also  appeared  from  his  own  admission  that  it  originated 
with  Spencer,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  vicious,  weak- 
headed  youth  in  whom  the  piratical  propensity  amounted  to 
a  mania.  It  was  nevertheless  an  open  question  in  the  minds 
of  the  public  whether  the  danger  was  sufficiently  imminent 
to  warrant  Mackenzie  in  having  recourse  to  such  extreme 
measures  of  repression.  Immediately  after  the  return  of 
the  Somers  a  court  of  inquiry  was  ordered,  and  subse- 
quently Mackenzie  was  arrested  by  order  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  on  the  charge  of  wilful  murder  and  tried  by 
court-martial.  The  finding  of  the  court  of  inquiry  fully 
justified  his  action,  and  the  court-martial  pronounced  each 
of  the  articles  and  specifications  against  him  not  proved. 


1843.  EARLY  LIFE   AT   THE   BAR.  49 

December  29.  All  the  world  is  talking  about  the 
Soiners  mutiny  and  the  execution  of  Spencer.  The 
prevailing  opinion  (I  have  not  met  an  exception)  is 
that  Mackenzie  will  justify  himself.  I  have  little 
doubt  of  it. 

1843.  January  4.  New  York.  Called  on  C.  W. 
Hoffman  at  the  Custom  House,  where  he  has  an  of- 
fice. Talked  over  the  Soiners  mutiny  and  Captain 
Mackenzie.  He  sympathizes  with  Mackenzie  very 
much,  and  has  a  horrid  idea  of  Spencer's  father,  the 
Secretary  of  War,  whom  he  thinks  capable  of  feeing 
the  papers  to  attack  Mackenzie. 

Saw  Mr.  Ogden  Hoffman,  who  invited  me  to  go  on 
board  the  North  Carolina,  and  attend  the  court-mar- 
tial. 

Went  with  William  and  John  [Watson]  on  board 
the  North  Carolina  to  see  the  court-martial.  There, 
in  the  cabin,  at  the  head  of  a  table,  sat  Commodore 
Stewart,  the  president  of  the  court,  and  at  his  sides, 
Commodores  Dallas  and  Jones.  At  one  end  of  the 
table  sat  Commander  Alexander  Slidell  Mackenzie, 
and  at  the  other  Midshipman  M.  C.  Perry  (nephew 
of  O.  H.  P.),  who  was  testifying,  and  standing  at  the 
stove  was  Ogden  Hoffman,  judge  advocate. 

Mackenzie  is  a  calm,  resolute,  plain,  modest  man 
of  about  forty,  entirely  without  any  swagger  or  as- 
sumption, and  with  the  appearance  of  being  careful 
and  conscientious.  I  looked  with  no  little  interest  at 
old  Commodore  Stewart,  the  veteran  of  the  War  of 
1812-14,  and  the  captor  of  the  Cyane  and  Levant  in 
the  Constitution. 

January  5.  Having  bid  good-by  to  my  dear 
friends  on  the  night  before,  I  rose  early  and  reached 
the  New  Haven  boat  at  seven  A.  M. 


50  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  27. 

Passing  the  Navy  Yard,  I  saw  a  man  pointing  out 
the  Independence,  sixty  guns,  as  the  Somers.  I  took 
an  opportunity  afterwards  to  ask  him  what  vessel 
that  was  in  the  stream.  He  answered,  the  Somers, 
which  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  point  out  the  Som- 
ers to  him  as  the  little  brig  lying  in  by  the  wharf. 
He  could  hardly  believe  it  was  so  small.  I  made  a 
point  upon  that  in  favor  of  Mackenzie. 

January  10.  Received  a  letter  from  Miss  C.  M. 
Sedgwick,  desiring  me  to  write  to  her  a  letter  on  the 
matter  of  Mackenzie  and  the  Somers,  which  she 
might  publish,  giving  a  description  of  the  appearance 
of  the  Somers,  and  such  inferences  from  what  I  saw 
or  heard  as  I  had  stated  to  them. 

January  11.  Answered  Miss  Sedgwick's  letter 
with  a  long  letter  carefully  prepared  for  publication. 

14.  Received  the  New  York  "  Evening  Post," 
with  my  letter  in  it  favorably  headed. 

17.  My  Somers  letter  published  in  the  "  Boston 
Atlas,"  "Morning  Journal,"  "New  York  Tribune," 
"  Morning  Post,"  etc. 

As  this  "  Somers  letter  "  was  characteristic  of  Dana,  in 
many  ways,  bringing  his  legal  training  to  bear  on  his  nauti- 
cal experience  with  the  literary  skill  natural  to  him,  it  is 
worth  while  to  reproduce  it  in  full.  It  has,  besides,  a  per- 
manent interest,  for  it  is  the  judgment  of  a  man  whose 
judgment  carried  weight  on  this  painful  episode  in  our  naval 
history,  in  regard  to  which  opinions  then  were,  and  will 
probably  always  remain,  divided. 

Boston,  January  11,  1843. 
.  .  .  Short  as  my    stay  was,    I  could   not    refuse 
's  invitation  to  attend  the  court-martial,  and  to 


visit  the  little  brig  which  had  been  the  scene  of  the 
exciting  tragedy. 


1843.  EARLY  LIFE  AT  THE  BAR.  51 

We  had  a  fine,  clear,  cold  day,  and  the  Brooklyn 
ferry-boat  zigzagged  us  across  the  river,  to  avoid  the 
floating  ice,  and  a  lively  sleigh  took  us  to  the  navy 
yard.  The  court  is  held  on  board  the  North  Caro- 
lina, a  large  ship  of  the  line,  which  lies  moored  a 
few  rods  from  the  wharf.  A  little  wherry,  in  which 
were  two  sailors  with  the  naval  jacket  and  shirt  col- 
lar, was  passing  and  repassing  by  a  tow-line  or  guess- 
warp,  taking  passengers  off  and  on. 

It  was  interesting  and  singular  to  see  these  poor 
fellows  attending  about  a  ship  in  which  a  court  of 
great  personages  was  sitting  to  determine  whether  a 
commander  can  string  them  up  at  a  yard-arm  at  sea 
for  a  mutiny ;  and  I  felt  a  strong  inclination  to  learn 
what  impression  the  whole  affair  made  upon  them ; 
but  it  would  have  been  improper  for  me  to  touch 
upon  the  subject  with  them  if  I  had  had  an  oppor- 
tunity, as  I  did  not.  The  marine  on  guard  at  the 
cabin  door  let  us  pass,  and  we  found  ourselves  in  the 
upper  cabin,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  grave  and  rather 
imposing  assembly. 

A  long  table  filled  the  middle  of  the  room.  On 
one  side  of  it  sat  the  three  commanders  who  compose 
the  court ;  Mr.  Mackenzie  sat  at  one  end,  Mr.  Perry 
(the  witness  then  under  examination)  stood  at  the 
other  end ;  and  opposite  the  court  sat  the  clerk  and 
Mr.  Hoffman,  the  judge  advocate.  There  were  a 
number  of  auditors,  and  the  reporters  of  the  princi- 
pal papers  had  a  table  to  themselves.  The  clerk  was 
reading  Mr.  Perry's  testimony,  and  all  was  silent,  so 
that  I  had  a  good  opportunity  for  observation. 

Notwithstanding  my  desire  to  see  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
my  eye  rested  for  some  time  upon  the  venerable  pres- 
ident of  the  court,  Commodore  Stewart,  one  of  the 


52  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA,  Mt.  27. 

Old  Ironsides'  heroes,  and  the  manager  of  what  al- 
ways seemed  to  me  to  be  the  best  manoeuvred  battle 
in  our  late  war.  He  has  a  good  head,  and  carries  the 
appearance  of  a  man  who  can  command  himself  as 
well  as  others,  and  has  that  calm  manner  which  usu- 
ally attends  one  who  feels  that  his  reputation  is 
settled.  The  whole  court  is  one  in  which  great  con- 
fidence must  be  placed,  for  they  have  the  name  and 
appearance  of  possessing  clear  heads  and  right 
minds. 

I  next  carefully  observed  the  features  and  expres- 
sion of  the  party  on  trial ;  for  this  case  is  one  which 
receives  its  complexion  very  much  from  the  charac- 
ter of  the  chief  actor:  the  facts  being  such  as  can 
never  come  to  us  with  the  same  force  and  meaning 
with  which  they  came  to  him  at  the  time.  It  is  not 
questioned  that  he  acted  upon  the  best  of  his  deliber- 
ate judgment.  How  is  he  qualified,  then,  in  moral 
and  intellectual  character,  for  forming  a  judgment? 
—  becomes  an  important  question.  On  this  point  his 
appearance  is  very  much  in  his  favor.  He  is  appar- 
ently about  forty  years  of  age,  and  I  am  told  that  he 
entered  the  service  at  ten,  and  he  says  he  has  served 
thirty  years.  He  has  every  mark  of  a  calm,  self- 
possessed,  clear-minded  man,  entirely  free  from  any 
of  that  dashing,  off-hand  or  assuming  manner  which 
sometimes  attends  the  military  button.  I  felt  much 
confidence  in  him  from  the  moment  I  had  carefully 
observed  him,  and  this  confidence  has  increased  by 
my  being  informed  that  he  is  more  noted  for  con- 
scientiousness, order  and  thoroughness,  than  for  im- 
agination or  enthusiasm. 

I  remained  but  a  short  time,  as  I  knew  that  I 
could  read  the  evidence  more  carefully  the  next  day 


1843.  EARLY  LIFE  AT   THE  BAR.  53 

in  the  papers  than  I  could  get  it  while  looking  so 
many  different  ways. 

From  the  North  Carolina  I  went  to  the  Somers ; 
and  here  I  must  say  that  no  one  ought  to  form  an 
opinion  upon  the  issue  of  this  conspiracy  without 
first  seeing  the  Somers.  You  have  been  on  board 
a  man-of-war,  and  you  have,  doubtless  (as  I  find 
others  have),  formed  your  notions  of  the  state  of 
things  in  the  Somers  by  what  you  have  seen  before. 
In  the  ships  of  the  line,  frigates,  or  sloops  of  war 
which  you  have  visited  there  is  great  appearance  of 
protection,  defence,  and  imposing  authority  con- 
nected with  the  after  end  of  the  ship.  There  is  a 
poop  deck,  a  cabin  built  above  the  main  deck,  with 
doors  and  windows  looking  forward,  a  marine  with 
bayonet  and  loaded  musket  at  the  door,  another  at 
the  gangway,  and  others  on  guard  at  various  parts 
of  the  ship,  clear,  roomy  decks,  a  plenty  of  officers 
about,  and  the  quarters  of  officers  furnished  with 
arms,  and  well  guarded.  But  you  must  make  a 
revolution  in  all  your  ideas  upon  these  particulars  to 
judge  of  the  Somers.  You  would  hardly  believe  your 
eyes  if  you  were  here  to  see,  as  the  scene  of  this 
dreadful  conspiracy,  a  little  brig,  with  low  bulwarks, 
a  single  narrow  deck  flush  fore  and  aft,  and  nothing 
to  mark  the  officers'  quarters  but  a  long  trunk-house, 
or  companion,  raised  a  few  feet  from  the  deck  to  let 
light  and  air  in  below,  such  as  you  may  have  seen 
in  our  smaller  packets  which  ply  along  the  seaboard. 
You  feel  as  though  half  a  dozen  resolute  conspirators 
could  have  swept  the  decks  and  thrown  overboard 
all  that  opposed  them  before  aid  could  come  from 
below.  And  in  coming  on  deck  (which  seemed  to 
me  more  fearful  than  anything  else  in  the  officers' 


54  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  27. 

condition)  the  officers  would  have  to  come  up  the 
steps  and  through  the  small  companion  scuttles,  at 
which  a  couple  of  men  could  easily  have  cut  them 
down,  or  shot  them  as  they  appeared.  The  officers' 
quarters  and  the  cabin  are  on  the  same  floor  with  the 
berth  deck  of  the  crew,  separated  only  by  bulkheads, 
and  there  was  not  a  marine  on  board  to  keep  guard 
at  the  doors,  in  the  gangways,  over  the  spirit  room, 
powder  magazine,  or  arm  chest.  All  these  places, 
and  others  of  hardly  inferior  importance,  have  to  be 
guarded  by  the  officers  themselves,  or  intrusted  to 
such  of  the  petty  officers  and  men  as  they  could  place 
confidence  in.  We  were  not  permitted  to  go  below, 
but  I  could  easily  believe  that,  allowing  sufficient 
space  between  decks  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
officers  and  men,  the  hold  might  be  so  occupied  by 
stores,  ammunition,  ballast,  and  the  numerous  neces- 
saries of  a  ship  of  war  in  actual  service,  as  to  leave 
no  place  where  half  a  dozen  conspirators  could  be 
safely  confined,  apart  from  the  crew,  even  if  retain- 
ing them  on  board  at  all  had  been  possible.  In 
short,  no  one  at  all  acquainted  with  nautical  matters 
can  see  the  Somers  without  being  made  feelingly 
awn  re  of  the  defenceless  situation  of  those  few  of- 
ficers dealing  with  a  crew  of  ninety  persons,  of  whom 
some  were  known  to  be  conspirators,  while  of  the 
rest  they  hardly  knew  upon  whom  to  rely  for  active 
and  efficient  aid  in  time  of  danger. 

Indeed,  I  would  go  farther  and  say  that  one  must 
either  have  been  at  sen,  or  be  willing  to  receive  some- 
thing on  faith  for  those  who  have,  to  judge  fairly  of 
this  case.  The  difficulty  in  the  public  mind  is  to  be 
satisfied  that  there  was  such  a  state  of  things  on 
board,  after  the  arrest,  as  would  render  it  all  but  cer- 


1843.  EARLY  LIFE  AT   THE  BAR.  55 

tain  to  men  of  reasonable  firmness  and  discretion, 
that  the  arrested  persons  could  not  be  taken  into 
port  in  irons.  For  this  must  be  made  out,  or  the  ex- 
ecution was  unjustifiable.  I  do  not  yet  mean  to  give 
you  an  opinion  upon  which  I  am  willing  to  be  held, 
for  the  facts  are  not  yet  all  in ;  but  I  should  not  be 
surprised  if  the  facts  and  demonstrations  which  satis- 
fied Mackenzie  and  his  officers  should  have  less  effect 
upon  the  general  observer  and  reader  on  shore.  The 
crew  were  under  some  fear  after  the  arrest,  and 
would  be  careful  not  to  do  any  overt  act,  or  commit 
themselves  at  all,  until  they  were  ready  to  attempt 
the  rescue.  They  would  conceal  every  sign  until  the 
moment  of  the  outbreak.  If  the  officers  had  waited 
for  that  evidence,  they  would  have  waited  just  too 
long  for  their  own  safety,  and  for  the  prevention  of 
dreadful  crimes  on  the  whole  ocean.  They  were 
obliged  to  judge  from  a  variety  of  small  circum- 
stances, of  which  some  are  significant  only  to  naval 
men,  and  others  can  hardly  be  made  to  appear  on 
paper  as  they  did  on  the  deck.  For  instance,  the 
refusal  of  three  men  to  muster.  If  this  was,  as  the 
officers  believed,  a  deliberate  combination  to  disobey 
a  lawful  order,  and  carried  out,  it  was  of  itself  a 
mutiny,  and  would  forfeit  the  lives  of  the  parties 
by  the  martial  law :  for  I  know  no  other  definition 
of  mutiny  than  would  cover  that  act.  It  is  an  open 
defiance  of  authority,  and,  connected  with  the  event 
of  the  others,  wTould  alone  go  far  to  make  out  the 
required  case.  The  suspected  contrivance  to  carry 
away  the  mast;  the  gathering  of  the  men  about  the 
mast-head,  away  from  their  stations ;  their  rushing 
aft  to  the  boom-brace,  and  refusal  to  go  forward  when 
ordered;  the  crowding  into  and  blocking  up  of  the 


56  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  27. 

narrow  gangways ;  their  neglect  and  disobedience  of 
orders  ;  that  "  indescribable  something,"  which  Mr. 
Perry  mentioned,  in  their  looks  and  manner,  denoting 
defiance  and  preparation  for  worse  ;  the  concealing  of 
deadly  weapons  in  convenient  but  secret  places  ;  the 
hiding  a  dagger  in  the  gun  carriage,  near  Spencer ; 
the  midnight  alarms ;  and  above  all  the  fact  of  these 
demonstrations  becoming  stronger,  more  apparent, 
and  more  frequent  as  they  drew  nearer  to  port  and 
the  chances  of  escape  for  the  guilty  were  lessening ; 
all  these  might  make  out  a  case  which  would  satisfy 
a  conscientious,  humane  and  brave  man  in  taking 
life,  when  yet  a  landsman,  reading  the  articles  in  the 
papers  by  his  fireside,  in  the  heart  of  a  city,  sur- 
rounded by  watchmen,  a  police  and  a  posse  comita- 
tus,  before  whom  he  can  "  swear  the  peace  "  against 
a  suspected  assaulter,  and  have  him  put  into  the 
"Tombs,"  might  think  the  judgment  not  sustained 
by  evidence  of  sufficient  danger.  If  the  officers 
were  morally  certain  of  an  outbreak,  which  no  con- 
finement could  prevent,  —  recollect,  they  could  call 
in  no  aid  from  abroad,  —  there  was  no  place  for  re- 
treat, and  no  concessions  would  avail  them.  Must 
they  then  wait  the  onset  and  its  chances?  Perhaps, 
so  far  as  personal  danger  to  themselves  was  con- 
cerned, Mr.  Mackenzie  and  his  officers  would  have 
been  willing  to  run  the  risk  of  the  contest,  or  (as 
would  have  been  more  probable)  of  being  taken  by 
surprise  and  at  a  disadvantage,  rather  than  to  take 
life  beforehand  ;  but  they  had  also  a  solemn  duty  as 
public  officers,  at  all  hazards  to  prevent  this  vessel's 
becoming  a  pirate,  in  the  hands  of  men  who  would 
have  the  power  and  the  will  to  commit  the  most 
dreadful  atrocities  of  which  we  can  form  any  imagi- 


1843.  EARLY  LIFE  AT  THE  BAR.  57 

nation  ;  and  if,  from  any  over-humanity,  or  a  fear  of 
the  consequences  of  an  execution  to  themselves  pro- 
fessionally, or  before  the  public,  or  from  too  much 
confidence  in  their  own  power,  they  had  suffered 
the  conspirators  to  prevail,  and  the  dreadful  conse- 
quences had  come  to  our  ears  —  not  even  the  per- 
sonal sufferings  and  death  of  these  officers  would 
have  saved  their  memory  from  our  reproaches. 

On  shore  life  is  rarely  taken  to  prevent  the  com- 
mission of  a  capital  crime  (although  the  law  allows 
it  when  necessary)  because  there  can  be  usually 
other  precautions  and  means  of  defence.  Not  so  at 
sea,  in  a  case  like  this. 

From  what  1  have  heard,  there  seems  to  have  been 
a  strange  misapprehension  of  Mackenzie's  report  in 
one  particular,  and  which  has  injured  him  somewhat. 
It  has  been  said  that  he  told  Spencer  that  if  he  were 
taken  home,  wealth  and  station  are  all  powerful,  and 
li3  might  escape  death ;  and  this  is  sometimes  spoken 
of  as  one  of  the  reasons  for  the  execution.  I  knew 
that  this  could  not  be  so,  for  it  would  be  murder, 
and  no  better;  and  I  recurred  to  the  report  and 
found  that  the  misapprehension  was  quite  evident. 
Spencer  said,  "  This  will  kill  my  mother,"  or  words  to 
that  effect,  and  afterwards  added  that  it  would  in- 
jure his  father  ;  meaning,  before  the  public.  To  this 
Mackenzie  replied,  to  make  it  as  well  for  Spencer  as 
he  could  (an  indifferent  consolation  to  be  sure,  but 
the  best  he  could  offer),  that  it  would  not  injure  his 
father's  reputation  so  much  to  have  a  son  executed 
at  sea  for  crime,  without  his  knowledge,  as  to  have 
had  him  succeed,  or  to  have  had  him  brought  home 
for  trial,  had  that  been  possible,  for  the  father  would 
naturally,    by    the    instinct    of   a   parent,   and    from 


58  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  27. 

knowledge  of  the  power  of  wealth  and  station,  en- 
deavor to  screen  his  son,  and  thus  injure  himself.  It 
being  at  the  same  time  perfectly  understood  between 
them,  that  Mackenzie  considered  the  execution 
forced  upon  him  by  the  subsequent  acts  of  the  con- 
spirators. 

With  us,  in  Boston,  I  have  heard  but  one  opinion  ; 
but  in  New  York  there  have  been  some  misunder- 
standings and  misconstructions,  as  I  think.  You  will 
not  suspect  me  of  inclining  in  favor  of  a  despotic  use 
of  power  at  sea ;  yet,  I  assure  you,  that,  having  seen 
the  Somers,  and  felt  the  defenceless  situation  of  the 
officers  ;  knowing  that,  besides  Mackenzie,  there  was 
but  one  commissioned  officer  on  board,  and  that  of 
the  warrant  officers,  the  elder  are  but  young  men, 
and  the  younger  but  lads  ;  knowing  that  there  were 
no  marines  on  board,  and  that  some  of  the  forward 
officers,  upon  whom  great  reliance  is  usually  and 
somewhat  necessarily  placed,  were  implicated  in  the 
conspiracy  ;  that  there  was  no  chance  for  escape,  nor 
of  aid  from  abroad,  nor  in  concessions ;  and  that  the 
guilty  persons,  whether  arrested  or  free,  whether  dis- 
covered or  secret,  would  naturally  make  a  desperate 
effort  before  reaching  the  land;  and  remembering  the 
public  duty  the  officers  had  to  perform  to  save  the 
lives  of  those  committed  to  their  charge,  and  to  pre- 
vent at  all  hazards  the  success  of  these  hostes  humani 
generis;  I  am  willing  to  believe  that  we  shall  all 
finally  be  satisfied  that  the  execution  was  an  act  of 
solemn  necessity.  We  look  for  the  remaining  evi- 
dence with  anxious  interest. 

April  25.  A  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Craney, 
late  a  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  Navy,  was  in- 
troduced to  me  as  wishing  to  study  law  in  my  office. 


1843.  EARLY  LIFE  AT   THE  BAR.  59 

After  some  conversation,  in  order  to  explain  to  me 
the  fact  of  bis  leaving  the  service,  he  gave  me  the 
history  of  his  unfortunate  difficulty  with  the  Depart- 
ment. It  is  a  most  sad  story,  if  he  has  given  it  cor- 
rectly, and  I  believe  him  to  have  done  so. 

He  entered  the  navy  quite  young,  and  toiled  up 
to  a  lieutenancy,  which  gave  him  an  honorable  com- 
petency. While  junior  lieutenant  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina, receiving  ship  at  New  York,  Captain  Spencer  of 
the  navy,  brother  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  came  on 
board,  bringing  with  him  his  nephew  Philip  Spencer, 
who  had  just  received  a  midshipman's  warrant.  Mr. 
Craney  happened  to  be  officer  of  the  deck,  and  being 
acquainted  with  Captain  Spencer  the  latter  intro- 
duced young  Spencer  to  him,  and  asked  him  to  assist 
the  young  beginner,  by  teaching  him  the  ropes  and 
looking  after  him  in  various  ways.  Mr.  Craney  was 
pleased  with  the  opportunity  of  befriending  the  son 
of  the  Secretary  of  War  and  nephew  of  an  officer  of 
high  rank,  and  thought  it  might  be  an  advantage  to 
himself  if  the  young  man  turned  out  well.  Soon, 
however,  he  saw  that  Spencer  was  a  bad  fellow  and 
would  make  him  trouble.  He  had  invited  him  to 
use  his  state-room  and  his  books  whenever  he  wished 
to,  and  he  found  that  Spencer  had  abused  this  liberty, 
by  keeping  lights  in  his  state-room  after  the  hour 
allowed,  and  by  keeping  bottles  of  liquor  under  his 
bureau,  with  which  he  got  drunk  while  Craney  was 
in  the  city.  He  spoke  to  Spencer  several  times  about 
it,  but  it  did  no  good.  At  length  Craney  was  re- 
ported to  the  first  lieutenant  as  having  a  light  in  his 
state-room  after  hours.  Craney  explained  the  matter 
to  the  first  lieutenant,  but  nothing  was  done  to  the 
son  of  the  secretarv. 


60  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  27. 

One  night  Craney  was  in  his  berth  asleep,  when 
he  was  waked  up  by  a  noise  and  saw  Spencer  in  his 
state-room  trying  to  draw  a  bottle  from  under  some 
place  where  it  seems  he  had  hidden  it.  Craney 
ordered  him  out  of  the  room.  Spencer,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  a  little  intoxicated,  said  he  would  go 
when  he  chose.  Craney  ordered  him  out  again,  and 
then  Spencer  raised  his  arm  and  struck  him  a  severe 
blow  as  he  lay  in  his  berth.  Craney  sprang  out  of  his 
berth  and  pushed  Spencer  from  the  room.  Spencer 
resisted,  and  the  noise  brought  the  officers  down. 
Spencer  was  ordered  below.  The  next  morning  the 
first  lieutenant  sent  for  Craney  and  asked  him  if  he 
intended  to  report  Spencer.  Craney  said  he  certainly 
thought  it  his  duty  to  do  so,  as  the  offence  of  strik- 
ing a  superior  officer  was  the  worst  that  could  occur 
on  board  ship.  The  lieutenant  then  told  him  that 
he  would  advise  him  as  a  friend  to  do  no  more  about 
the  matter.  That  it  would  do  him  no  good  at  the 
Department ;  that  Spencer's  friends  were  powerful, 
and  he  had  better  let  it  drop.  After  some  reflection, 
and  thinking  that  Spencer  was  young  and  after  an 
alarm  might  do  better,  he  did  nothing  farther. 

Mr.  Craney  had  an  uncommonly  good  sextant,  and 
had  offered  to  the  professor  of  mathematics  to  explain 
the  use  of  it  to  the  midshipmen  whom  the  professor 
was  instructing  daily  in  the  steerage.  One  day  the 
professor  asked  Craney  to  go  down  and  explain  the 
sextant  to  the  young  gentlemen,  and  having  no  duty 
on  hand  he  did  so.  While  there,  in  the  presence  of 
the  professor,  explaining  the  instrument  to  the  mid- 
shipmen, he  received  a  violent  blow  upon  the  side  of 
the  face,  which  pushed  him  backwards  in  his  chair 
and  threw  him  and  the  chair  over  upon  the  floor. 


1843.  EARLY  LIFE   AT  THE  BAR.  61 

This  blow  was  struck  by  Spencer,  who  came  up  be- 
hind him  while  engaged  looking  upon  the  instrument. 
At  the  same  time  with  the  blow  Spencer  wrenched 
off  Craney's  epaulet,  tearing  off  the  button,  and  rip- 
ping down  his  coat.  Craney  sprang  up,  but  was  in- 
stantly seized  by  a  number  of  those  present  and  held 
back,  while  young  Spencer  was  dragged  out  of  the 
room. 

Allowing  himself  time  to  cool,  and  a  season  for  re- 
flection, Craney  reported  this  and  the  previous  trans- 
action to  the  Department.  (I  suppose  from  what 
followed  that  this  report  had  to  go  through  the  hands 
of  sthe  commander  of  the  ship.) 

Either  Captain  Spencer  or  the  commander  of  the 
ship,  Commodore  Perry,  sent  for  the  professor  and 
several  of  the  midshipmen  present,  and  learned  from 
them  1;hat  Mr.  Craney's  report  was  rather  under- 
stated than  otherwise.  Commodore  Perry  then  sent 
for  Craney  and  tried  to  persuade  him  not  to  report 
Spencer,  telling  him  that  he  would  do  himself  no 
good  by  it,  etc.  Craney  said  he  could  not  pass  over 
it.  It  was  an  offence  which  was  punishable  even  by 
death  if  a  court-martial  so  ordered,  and  being  com- 
mitted in  the  presence  of  the  midshipmen,  and  known 
to  the  whole  ship's  company,  his  own  honor  as  well 
as  a  duty  he  owed  the  service  required  him  to  do  it. 
The  Commodore  then  told  him  it  would  be  of  no  use 
as  Spencer  had  been  ordered  to  join  the  John  Adams 
at  Boston  ;  and  offered  him  back  his  charges,  which 
he  had  not  sent  to  the  Department.  Mr.  Craney 
says  he  instantly  saw  through  this.  Captain  Spencer, 
finding  Craney  determined  to  report  his  nephew,  had 
written  to  the  lad's  father  and  procured  orders  for 
him  to  join  another  vessel,  and  prevailed  upon  Com- 


62  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  M-v.  27. 

modore  Perry  to  retain  the  charges  until  Spencer 
should  be  sent  away. 

Mr.  Craney  stated  his  opinion  very  freely,  and  de- 
manded that  Commodore  Perry  should  retain  the  or- 
ders until  the  charges  could  be  sent  to  Washington 
and  Spencer  arrested.  This  the  Commodore  refused 
to  do,  saying  that  he  must  obey  his  orders  from  the 
Department. 

Mr.  Craney  then  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  detailing  the  whole  transaction.  To  this 
he  received  a  reply  slighting  the  whole  matter,  and 
treating  Craney,  as  he  thought,  in  a  very  insolent 
and  contemptuous  manner.  To  this,  I  think,  but  am 
not  sure,  Craney  replied.  At  all  events,  it  ended  in 
Craney's  being  suspended,  and  Spencer  sent  upon  a 
cruise  in  the  John  Adams.  Craney  remained  sus- 
pended for  weeks  on  board  the  North  Carolina.  He 
had  been  insulted  and  openly  assaulted  by  an  in- 
ferior officer ;  himself  and  the  service  in  his  person 
had  been  disgraced,  and  justice  and  satisfaction  had 
been  refused  him  ;  and  all  because  of  the  influence 
of  young  Spencer's  powerful  friends.  These  reflec- 
tions so  wore  upon  Craney  that  he  became  ill.  His 
pent-up  indignation  and  his  wounded  feelings  allowed 
him  no  rest.  Under  the  influence  of  these  feelings 
he  sent  in  his  resignation,  which  was  accepted. 

After  twelve  or  fourteen  years  of  the  prime  of  his 
life  spent  in  the  service,  and  almost  unfitted  for  any- 
thing else,  he  was  thrown  out  upon  the  world. 

Not  long  after  his  resignation  the  news  of  the  exe- 
cution of  young  Spencer  by  Mackenzie,  on  board  the 
Somers,  reached  America. 

Such  is  the  story  of  Mr.  Craney.  It  has  made  my 
heart  ache  for  him.     It  is  too  strongly  flavored  with 


1843.  EARLY  LIFE  AT   THE  BAR.  63 

injustice,  the  triumph  of  wrong  and  the  suffering  of 
innocence  not  to  call  out  sympathy  and  interest  for 
the  subject  of  it. 

Whether  he  has  exaggerated  the  story,  or  not,  I 
have  no  certain  means  of  knowing;  but  I  never  heard 
a  story  told  in  a  more  precise,  methodical  and  calm 
manner ;  subsequent  events  as  to  Spencer  show  its 
probability,  and  Craney  impressed  me  very  favorably 
for  calmness,  self-respect  and  candor.1 

February  10.  At  Mr.  Ticknor's  in  the  evening, 
with  S.  We  had  the  usual  company  of  D wights, 
Elliots,  Guilds,  Mrs.  Norton  (the  loveliest  of  the 
post-meridian  ladies)  and  her  two  lovely  daughters, 
Fanny  Appleton  [Mrs.  Longfellow],  dressed  in  black 
and  looking  like  a  princess,  reserved  and  self-pos- 
sessed, Dr.  Howe,  Hillard,  Leonard  Woods,  Theodore 
Lyman,  Nathan  Appleton,  Prescott  (Ferdinand  and 
Isabella),  Miss  Julia  Ward  [Mrs.  Howe]  of  New 
York,  etc. 

Mr.  Ticknor  told  me  the  following  anecdote  of  John 
Adams,  which  I  believe  to  be  literally  true,  from  Mr. 
Ticknor's  great  accuracy  in  all  such  matters,  and  I 
am  sure  I  give  his  very  words.  He  said  that  he  took 
an  English  gentleman  out  to  call  upon  Mr.  Adams 
at  Quincy,  during  the  year  1825,  just  before  his 
death,  and  while  the  election  of  his  son  (J.  Q.)  was 

1  William  Craney  was  appointed  a  midshipman  23  May,  1832 ;  a 
passed  midshipman  23  June,  1838 ;  he  was  dismissed  the  service  31 
May,  1839,  hy  order  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  J.  K.  Paulding,  for 
reasons  specified  in  a  letter,  a  copy  of  which  was  filed  in  the  Depart- 
ment ;  he  was  reinstated  and  appointed  midshipman  3  September, 
1841 ;  and  resigned  15  February,  1842.  While  the  statements  made 
by  Craney  to  Dana,  and  which  at  the  time  impressed  the  latter  so 
much,  may  be  true  so  far  as  Philip  Spencer  was  concerned,  the  letter 
of  Secretary  Paulding  above  referred  to,  though  relating  to  other  and 
earlier  transactions,  should  be  read  in  connection  with  them. 


64  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  2Et.  27. 

undetermined.  The  old  man  with  (as  Mr.  Ticknor 
called  it)  his  habitual  indiscretion,  talked  politics. 
As  the  election  depended  mostly  upon  the  vote  of 
New  York  state,  Mr.  Ticknor,  to  keep  up  the  con- 
versation, said,  "  Mr.  President,  how  do  you  think 
New  York  will  go  ?  "  At  this  the  old  man  drew 
himself  up  and  answered,  "  Sir,  I  have  known  New 
York,  man  and  boy,  seventy  years,  and  she  has  al- 
ways been  the  Devil's  own  incomprehensible." 

April  3.  Spent  the  forenoon  in  court  hearing 
Choate  and  Dexter  in  United  States  v.  Le  Crow, 
indicted  for  withholding  provisions  from  his  crew. 
Choate  made  a  good  argument,  but  flowery,  over- 
strained and  extravagant.  Dexter  was  admirable. 
That  man  always  seeks  to  come  down  upon  his  case. 
He  seems  to  be  a  gentleman  practising  law,  and  not 
a  mere  lawyer.  Calm,  courteous,  liberal  and  high- 
minded  man. 

A  very  troublesome  case  of  professional  difficulty 
has  been  harassing  me  for  a  week  or  two.  A  captain 
and  mate  of  a  merchant  vessel  were  complained  of  for 
causing  the  death  of  the  steward,  a  poor  negro.  The 
facts,  as  testified  to  by  the  men  at  the  preliminary 
examination,  were  these :  —  That  the  master  and 
mate  flogged  the  steward  badly  about  four  P.  M.  for 
insolence,  etc.  That  the  steward  then  went  about  his 
business  for  an  hour  or  two.  That  he  was  again,  about 
eight  P.  M.,  flogged,  kicked  and  beaten  badly  by  the 
master  alone,  so  badly  as  would  have  caused  the  death 
of  many  men,  as  the  crew  believed.  That  after  this 
last  beating  the  captain  ordered  the  mate  to  assist  in 
taking  the  steward  into  the  cabin.  The  mate  did  so. 
They  lifted  him  in,  he  groaning  like  a  dying  man. 
After  this  the  crew  saw  no  more.     There  were  no 


1843.  EARLY  LIFE  AT  THE  BAR.  65 

passengers,  and  no  one  in  the  cabin  but  the  master 
and  officers.  The  second  mate  was  in  his  state-room, 
and  swore  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  matter.  The 
next  morning,  when  the  cook  went  to  call  the  stew- 
ard, he  found  him  dead.  The  cook  told  the  master 
and  officers,  and  they  went  to  his  berth,  and  there 
found  a  glass  stopple.  They  then  went  to  the  medi- 
cine chest,  and  the  laudanum  bottle  was  missing. 
They  then  said  that  the  steward  poisoned  himself. 
The  crew  doubted  this  story. 

The  preliminary  examination  took  place,  and  the 
master  and  mate  were  bound  over  to  appear  before 
the  Grand  Jury.  In  the  interval  the  mate  came  to 
me  and  told  me  that  he  wished  to  ask  my  advice  and 
to  retain  me  as  his  counsel.  He  said  he  had  a  dis- 
tinct defence  from  his  captain,  and  must  have  separate 
advice  and  defence.  He  then  told  me  confidentially, 
as  his  counsel,  the  whole  story.  When  he  had  assisted 
the  master  in  taking  the  steward  into  the  cabin,  they 
set  him  in  a  chair  and  found  him  dead.  The  cap- 
tain then  said,  "  Then  I  am  in  difficulty.  You  must 
assist  me."  They  then  took  the  steward,  laid  him  in 
his  berth,  the  captain  got  the  laudanum  bottle  from 
the  medicine  chest,  poured  out  the  laudanum,  and 
placed  the  empty  bottle  and  stopple  by  the  side  of 
the  berth,  and  then  they  went  to  bed. 

This  was  the  case.  All  the  facts  testified  toby  the 
crew  sustained  its  probability.  It  was  stated  sol- 
emnly, and  was  somewhat  unfavorable  to  the  com- 
municator of-  it.  Here  then  was,  as  I  could  not  doubt, 
a  case  of  manslaughter,  if  not  of  murder.  Yet  my 
knowledge  of  the  facts  came  to  me  in  the  sacred  char- 
acter of  a  professional  communication.  I  could  not 
use  them  against  my  client.     The  law,  as  well  as  my 


66  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  27. 

own  sense  of  justice  and  of  the  reason  grounded  in 
the  policy  of  the  profession,  would  forbid  my  divulg- 
ing it.  Unless  a  man  can  be  safe  in  making  a  com- 
munication to  his  counsel,  there  would  be  an  end  of 
defences  against  every  charge.  I  had  received  it,  too, 
from  a  man  who  had  a  right  and  was  able  to  keep  his 
own  secret  under  the  implied,  if  not  express,  promise 
of  secrecy.  On  the  other  hand,  unless  some  use  was 
made  of  the  mate's  testimony,  the  master  would  go 
unpunished.  I  did  all  in  my  power  to  persuade  the 
mate  to  go  to  the  prosecuting  officer  and  divulge  the 
story,  and  promised  him  my  assistance,  and  assured 
him  that  he  would  be  safe  ;  but  he  would  not  become 
state's  evidence,  and  he  said  it  would  ruin  him  with 
his  employers,  who  were  connected  with  the  master, 
and  being  a  foreigner  he  had  nowhere  else  to  look 
for  support. 

In  this  state  I  had  to  stand  by  and  see  the  case 
changed  from  a  charge  of  homicide  to  one  of  mere 
assault  and  battery  for  want  of  sufficient  evidence.  I 
did,  several  times,  in  conversation,  express  a  strong 
opinion  to  a  prosecuting  officer,  grounded  on  the  evi- 
dence in  court  alone,  however,  that  an  indictment  for 
manslaughter  would  be  sustained  against  the  master. 
But  he  would  not  risk  it. 

The  trial  comes  on  this  week.  I  am  to  defend  the 
mate ;  and  that  I  can  do  with  a  clear  conscience,  for 
I  believe  him  innocent  even  of  an  unjustifiable  as- 
sault ;  but  to  stand  by  in  silence  and  see  a  guilty 
man  escape,  when  the  weapon  to  convict  him  is  in  my 
own  hand,  is  hard  indeed.  I  have  struggled  against 
a  desire  to  divulge,  in  some  secret  manner,  the  truth 
and  the  means  of  getting  at  it  to  the  prosecuting 
officer.  But  I  feel  it  would  be  wrong.  I  am  merely 
unfortunate  in  possessing  this  painful  knowledge. 


1843.  EARLY  LIFE  AT  THE  BAR.  67 

April  4.  Mr.  Allston  dined  at  Chestnut  Street. 
I  met  him  in  the  afternoon,  accidentally,  at  Mr.  Dex- 
ter's  office.  It  was  delightful  to  hear  Dexter,  who 
the  day  before  was  in  the  height  of  forensic  contest, 
quietly  and  with  real  feeling  and  zeal  talking  over 
the  beauties  of  art  with  Mr.  Allston. 

May  5.  On  coming  to  my  office,  I  found  among 
the  arrivals  the  Alert  from  San  Diego,  California, 
125  days.  I  hastened  down  to  the  wharf  and  found 
her  just  hauling  in.  The  crew  had  been  allowed  to 
go  ashore  at  night,  and  the  dockyard  men  were  haul- 
ing in  the  ship.  The  captain  and  mates  were  on 
board. 

She  looked  just  as  she  did  when  I  made  her  my 
home,  being  painted  in  the  same  manner,  with  the 
same  rigging  and  spars.  There  was  the  same  new 
mizzen  rigging  upon  which  we  worked  at  Monterey, 
the  same  blocks  through  which  we  had  hauled  ropes 
so  many  months,  the  wheel  at  which  we  had  stood 
hour  after  hour,  and  every  other  familiar  sign. 

I  went  into  the  forecastle.  It  had  been  enlarged 
by  throwing  in  two  berths  on  each  side  and  a  space 
abaft  the  chain  locker,  but  all  else  was  the  same. 
There  was  my  berth,  and  in  the  forecastle  I  happened 
to  find  a  man  who  had  occupied  the  same  for  the 
whole  of  this  voyage,  which  had  been  three  years 
and  three  months.  I  fell  into  conversation  with  him, 
and  learned  from  him  a  good  deal  of  news  about  the 
coast.  He  insisted  upon  my  accepting  from  him  two 
shells  which  he  had  got  at  Monterey. 

From  the  forecastle  I  went  to  the  cabin,  and  there 
saw  Captain  Phelps  and  Mr.  Everett  the  chief  mate. 
The  captain  said  he  had  brought  home  all  his  crew 
except  one,  who  was  drowned  at  Santa  Barbara. 


68  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  27. 

In  the  afternoon  two  of  the  crew  came  to  my  office, 
and  we  spent  several  hours  talking  over  California. 

June  1.  This  day  and  yesterday  I  have  been  in 
and  out  occasionally  the  anti- slavery  convention. 
Nothing  can  exceed  the  wildness  and  fanaticism  of 
that  collection  of  people.  During  these  two  days 
they  have  been  discussing  a  resolution  offered  by  a 
man  named  Foster  to  the  effect  that  the  Christian 
church  and  ministry  should  be  overthrown,  and  must 
be  before  the  abolition  of  slavery  can  be  looked  for. 
More  than  one  half  of  the  speakers  advocated  the 
resolution,  and  nothing  can  exceed  the  bitterness  and 
vulgarity  of  their  attacks  upon  the  church  and  clergy. 
Of  those  who  opposed  the  adoption  of  the  resolution, 
only  one,  the  Rev.  S.  J.  May,  ventured  to  defend 
churches  and  clergymen.  All  the  others  vied  with 
the  supporters  of  the  resolution  in  abusing  these  insti- 
tutions, but  contended  against  the  expediency  of  the 
anti-slavery  society,  as  such,  embroiling  itself  in  a 
controversy  with  the  churches  and  clergymen.  Two 
conceited,  shallow-pated  negro  youths,  named  Remond 
and  Douglass,  were  among  the  chief  speakers.  They 
seemed  to  have  been  entirely  spoiled  by  the  notice 
taken  of  them,  and  evidently  had  but  little  strengtli 
of  mind  by  nature.  The  expression  of  conceit  was 
so  evident  upon  their  countenances  as  to  be  perfectly 
laughable.  They  were  battling  the  watch  with  Gar- 
rison, Phillips,  May,  etc.,  as  they  called  these  gentle- 
men, for  all  titles  of  courtesy,  such  as  Mr.,  the  gentle- 
man, etc.,  are  dropped  by  these  radicals.  Two  or 
three  women  also  spoke,  but  their  speeches  were 
painful  from  the  sense  they  gave  one  of  incoherency 
and  excitement  almost  amounting  to  insanity. 

Phillips  is  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar,  and  speaks 


1843.  EARLY  LIFE  AT  THE  BAB.  69 

as  such.  May  speaks  calmly  and  sensibly.  Garrison 
has  logic  and  force,  but  is  a  fanatic  by  constitution, 
and  a  hater  of  everything  established  and  traditional, 
and  an  infidel  and  socialist.  Phillips,  however,  advo- 
cates exciting  the  blacks  to  insurrection  and  war. 
All  the  other  speakers  are  a  nest  of  ignorant,  fanati- 
cal, heated,  narrow-minded  men. 

The  resolution  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  eighty  to 
fifty,  but  it  was  rejected  on  the  ground  of  expedi- 
ency. There  was  evidently  hardly  a  person  in  the 
society  who  did  not  agree  with  the  general  tenor  of 
the  resolution. 

The  elements  of  which  this  convention  was  com- 
posed are  dreadful.  Heated,  narrow-minded,  self- 
willed,  excited,  unchristian,  radical  energies  set  to 
work  upon  a  cause  which  is  good,  if  rightly  managed, 
but  which  they  have  made  a  hot-bed  for  forcing  into 
growth  the  most  dangerous  doctrines  to  both  church 
and  state.  They  are  nearly  all  at  the  extreme  of 
radicalism,  socialism,  and  infidelity. 

Just  as  the  convention  adjourned  a  deplorable, 
looking  man  announced  that  in  the  evening  there 
would  be  a  convention  at  the  Chardon  Street  chapel 
to  discuss  the  subject  of  the  right  of  men  to  hold 
property,  and  the  reorganization  of  society,  —  "very 
simple  subjects,"  he  added. 

In  the  evening  I  went  to  this  convention,  and  there 
we  had  a  new  exhibition  of  radicalism.  The  speak- 
ers took  the  ground  that  no  man  had  a  right  to  any 
private  property,  not  even  to  the  products  of  his  own 
industry.  They  wjere  answered  by  a  man  named 
Ballou,  who  wound  them  up  completely  by  putting 
questions  to  them  which  they  had  to  answer  ex  tem- 
pore.    In  this  way  he  made  them  take  the  ground 


70  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  27. 

that  an  idle  man,  or  a  robber,  who  could  work  and 
would  not,  had  the  same  right  to  my  crop  which  I 
had  planted  and  cut  as  I  had  myself.  This  upset 
them  with  the  audience,  and  raised  a  shout  of  ap- 
plause for  Mr.  Ballou.     Upon  this  I  left. 

June  12.  This  being  little  Sally's  birthday,  we 
all  went  and  spent  the  afternoon  with  Mrs.  Atkins  in 
Roxbury  —  S.  and  her  mother  and  Olive,  Elizabeth 
and  myself.  Mrs.  Atkins  and  the  children  were  de- 
lighted to  see  us,  and  we  had  a  charming  time.  After 
the  long  rains  the  sun  had  come  out  clear  and  bright, 
and  nothing  could  exceed  the  freshness  of  the  air  and 
the  richness  of  the  foliage.  Sarah  was  in  high  spirits, 
and  enjoyed  herself  like  a  child.  After  tea,  loaded 
with  great  bunches  of  flowers,  we  returned  safely  to 
town. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

WASHINGTON  ALLSTON. 

Washington  Allston  had  married  [1830]  a  sister  of 
the  elder  Dana ;  his  first  wife,  Ann  Channing,  a  sister  of 
William  Ellery  Channing,  having  died  in  London  in  1815. 
Connected  with  them  by  both  marriages,  the  family  rela- 
tions between  him  and  the  Danas  were  naturally  close,  and 
the  younger  Richard  often  visited  the  artist's  studio.  After 
one  of  these  visits,  made  in  company  with  his  wife  on  the 
22d  of  April,  1843,  he  thus  recorded  his  impressions :  — 

Mr.  Allston  had  been  reading  the  "  Quarterly's " 
review  of  Dickens'  M  American  Notes,"  and  the  u  Ab- 
erdeen Correspondence,"  etc.  He  is  less  of  a  republi- 
can than  ever,  and  says  that  if  things  go  on  as  they 
promise  now  "in  eighty  years  there  will  not  be  a 
gentleman  left  in  the  country."  He  says  that  the 
manners  of  gentility,  its  courtesies,  deferences,  and 
graces  are  passing  away  from  among  us.  Whether 
they  pass  away  or  no,  he  is  a  good  specimen  of  them. 
Born  of  a  distinguished  family  in  Carolina,  and 
educated  into  the  feelings  and  habits  of  a  gentleman, 
with  a  noble  nature,  a  beautiful  countenance,  and 
graceful  person,  what  else  could  he  be  ? 

No  picture  is  more  pleasing  to  my  heart  and  fancy 
than  to  see  Mr.  Allston,  seated  at  his  parlor  fire  in 
the  evening,  after  a  day  spent  in  his  studio,  his  eye 
resting  meditatively  upon  the  fire,  his  beautiful  coun- 
tenance marked  with  taste  and  thought,  the  smoke 


72  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  27. 

from  bis  cigar  going  up  in  little  clouds  and  mingling 
among  the  gray  curls  of  his  hair,  and  then  rising,  to 
etherealize  the  whole,  with  the  social  glass  of  wine 
on  the  table  which  he  has  placed  before  his  visitor,  — 
the  whole  is  painted  with  warm  colors  in  my  mind. 

About  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  July  9  of 
the  same  year,  Dana  was  awakened  by  a  loud  ringing  of 
the  door-bell  of  the  house  in  West  Cedar  Street,  Boston, 
where  he  then  lived,  and  in  answer  to  his  inquiry  a  man 
below  informed  him  that  he  was  needed  at  Cambridgeport 
immediately,  —  that  Mr.  Allston  was  dead. 

It  went  to  my  heart  like  a  clap  of  thunder.  For 
the  first  time  in  my  life  I  was  confused  upon  an 
alarm.  I  could  hardly  breathe.  In  time  I  was 
dressed  and  in  the  street.  The  night  air  was  chilly, 
and  the  streets  were  as  still  as  death.  The  man  had 
been  to  call  up  Ned  at  Chestnut  Street,  and  we 
waited  for  him.  In  a  moment  we  h^ard  the  fall  of 
footsteps,  and  Ned  came  up  to  us.  We  got  into  the 
chaise  and  rode  out,  with  hardly  a  word  spoken. 
Ned  said,  "  I  left  him  at  nine,  sitting  at  his  tea-table. 
Almost  the  last  thing  I  heard  him  do  was  to  ask  a 
blessing  at  his  table." 

We  reached  the  house.  I  saw  a  light  in  his  back 
parlor,  where  he  always  sat,  but  none  up-stairs. 
Where  can  he  be  ?  Where  did  he  die  ?  We  opened 
the  door.  Aunt  Betsey  met  us  in  the  entr}^.  She 
said  a  few  words.  He  was  in  the  back  room.  I 
went  to  the  door  and  just  saw  his  body  lying  along 
the  rug  in  front  of  the  fire,  and  Aunt  S.  and  Ned  by 
his  side.  I  could  not,  for  my  life,  have  gone  up  to 
the  body.  I  went  to  the  other  end  of  the  room  and 
looked  out  of  the  window.  I  moved  to  the  other 
window,  but  could  not  go  up  to  it.    Never  did  I  force 


1843.  WASHINGTON  ALLSTON.  73 

myself  more  than  when  I  moved  gradually  and  fear- 
fully up  to  it.  And  there  he  lay.  The  men  who 
were  called  in  had  placed  him  upon  the  rug  in  front 
of  his  fire-place.  Excepting  that  his  neckerchief 
had  been  removed,  he  was  dressed  as  usual,  his  gray 
and  white  curls  lay  about  his  forehead  and  shoulders, 
and  his  sublime  countenance  with  closed  eyes  was 
turned  upward.  His  candles  were  burning  upon  the 
table  ;  by  the  side  of  them  lay  his  spectacles ;  the 
remnant  of  his  last  cigar  was  upon  the  corner  of  the 
mantel-piece  where  he  always  placed  it,  another  un- 
touched which  he  had  taken  out  to  use  next  lay  near 
it;  a  small  plate  as  usual  held  the  ashes  of  his  cigar, 
and  a  few  books,  none  of  them,  however,  open,  lay 
upon  the  table  and  mantel-piece.  Mrs.  Allston  had 
been  taken  up-stairs.  .  .  . 

July  10.  The  funeral  services  began  at  half  past 
seven  in  the  evening,  being  put  late  that  we  might 
have  a  veil  of  evening  to  keep  the  mourners  from  the 
common  gaze.  .  .  . 

The  service  at  the  house  was  performed  by  Aunt 
Martha's  [Mrs.  Allston]  clergyman,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Albro,  while  the  church  service  was  to  be  read  at  the 
tomb  by  Dr.  Vinton  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Boston,  at 
which  church  Mr.  Allston  had  been  confirmed,  and  of 
which  he  had  never  ceased  to  be  a  member.   .  .   . 

The  procession  passed  by  Mr.  Albro's  church  and 
the  old  Trowbridge  house,  in  Mr.  Allston's  road  to 
church,  and  thence  by  the  Brighton  bridge  street  to 
the  grave-yard.  When  we  reached  the  ground  it  was 
about  half  past  eight.  There  were  a  great  many  as- 
sembled in  the  yard  about  the  tomb,  and  the  sexton 
stood  with  his  lantern.  The  moon  was  struggling 
through  the  clouds  and  making  deep  shadows  from 


74  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi\  27. 

the  grave-stones  and  monuments.  The  whole  was  a 
most  impressive  scene.  The  coffin  was  placed  at  the 
grave's  mouth,  the  mourners  gathered  about  it,  the 
men  stood  uncovered,  and  the  solemn  service  of  the 
church  was  read.  The  preacher's  voice,  which  is 
unusually  good,  sounded  like  a  voice  of  promise  from 
above,  uttering  words  of  hope  and  consolation.  At 
the  words  "  earth  to  earth,  dust  to  dust,  ashes  to 
ashes,"  some  earth  was  dropped  upon  the  coffin,  and 
sounded  fearfully  and  ominously  to  our  ears.  Yet 
the  admirable  church  service  seems  to  sanctify  every 
portion  of  what  attends  the  burial,  even  the  throwing 
the  earth  upon  the  coffin.  At  the  M  Amen,"  the 
bearers  raised  the  coffin  and  entered  the  tomb,  and 
we  left  the  yard.  The  moon  was  shining  brightly 
when  we  reached  home.  .  .  . 

July  11.  A  letter  from  Mr.  Dexter  saying  that 
he  did  not  hear  of  the  death  until  after  the  funeral 
and  expressing  his  regret. 

Sumner  called  with  reference  to  a  monument  to 
Mr.  Allston.  Judge  Story  had  been  quite  urgent 
about  it.  Judge  S.,  Mr.  Dexter,  Hillard,  and  Sum- 
ner are  to  control  it.  Colonel  Perkins  will  head  it. 
Brackett  says  he  has  made  a  very  good  cast,  and 
seems  quite  encouraged. 

At  the  time  of  his  death,  as  for  years  before,  Allston  was 
working,  or  was  supposed,  and,  indeed,  supposed  himself  to 
be  working,  on  his  great  picture  of  Belshazzar's  Feast,  now 
preserved  in  an  unfinished  condition  in  the  Boston  Museum 
of  Fine  Arts.  The  picture  was  in  the  studio  when  Allston 
died,  though  no  mortal  eye  but  his  own  would  seem  for  years 
to  have  looked  upon  it.    The  following  entries  relate  to  it :  — 

Father  and  I  called  upon  Uncle  Edmund  [T.  Dana] 
with  reference  to  the  picture.     We  agreed  to  meet  at 


1843.  WASHINGTON  ALLSTON.  75 

the  painting  room  to-morrow  at  four  p.  M.,  with  Mr. 
John  Greenough  to  assist  us. 

July  12.  At  four  P.  M.  we  assembled  to  enter  the 
painting  room  and  "  break  the  seal "  of  the  great 
picture.  An  awe  had  been  upon  my  mind  as  though 
I  were  about  to  enter  a  sacred  and  mysterious  place. 
I  could  hardly  bring  my  mind  to  turn  the  key.  We 
tried  to  prepare  for  the  worst,  so  that  nothing  could 
disappoint  us.  But  to  enter  this  solemn  place,  so 
long  and  so  lately  filled  with  his  presence  and  the 
home  of  his  glorious  thoughts  and  his  painful  emo- 
tions, the  scene  of  his  distresses  when  no  human  eye 
saw,  and  few  human  spirits  can  comprehend !  I 
turned  the  key  and  opened  the  outer  door.  We  stood 
an  instant  in  the  porch  ;  but  Greenough,  whose  en- 
thusiasm and  interest  far  surpassed  any  awe  he  might 
feel,  rushed  in.  There  before  us  was  spread  out  the 
great  sheet  of  painted  canvas,  —  but  dimmed,  almost 
obscured  by  dust  and  marks  and  lines  of  chalk.  The 
eye  ran  across  the  picture  for  the  main  figures. 
Daniel  stood  erect.  The  queen  was  there.  But  where 
the  king  should  have  been,  where  Daniel's  eyes  were 
fixed,  was  a  shroud,  a  thickly  painted  coat,  effectu- 
ally blotting  out  the  whole  figure.  We  stood  for 
some  minutes  in  silence.  "  How  could  he  have  done 
it  ?  "  said  Uncle  E.  "  He  told  me  he  had  finished 
the  king  and  was  satisfied  with  it."  "  Oh,  in  some 
moment  of  darkness,  he  swept  it  all  off."  Father 
looked  at  it  and  said,  "  That  is  his  shroud."  It  was 
indeed  a  most  solemn  tragedy  that  this  revealed. 
We  felt  that  this  had  killed  him.  Over  this  he  had 
worn  out  his  enfeebled  frame  and  his  paralyzed  spirit, 
until  he  had  sunk  under  it.  The  agonies  he  had  en- 
dured here  no  tongue  can  tell !     There  in  the  left  of 


76  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  27. 

the  picture  the  large  figures  of  three  Chaldean  sooth- 
sayers had  been  chalked  over  for  alteration,  the  head 
of  Daniel  had  been  chalked,  and  there  were  marks  for 
alteration  upon  the  face  of  the  queen.  Some  of  the 
pillars  at  the  left  of  the  picture  had  also  chalk  marks 
upon  them.  The  steps  upon  which  he  painted  were 
placed  so  as  to  bring  him  against  the  face  of  the  ma- 
gicians, and  by  looking  carefully  we  saw  marks  of 
fresh  paint  recently  laid  on  upon  the  face  of  the 
magician  nearest  Daniel.  There  then  had  been  his 
last  work.  To  the  latest  moment  he  had  labored 
upon  this  great  work.  He  had  almost  died  with  his 
pencil  upon  it.  Six  hours  before  his  death  his  pen- 
cil was  on  this  picture.  The  right  hand  of  Daniel 
was  incomplete.  He  had  told  both  me  and  my  fa- 
ther that  this  hand  was  painted  open  ;  that  Stuart, 
to  whom  he  had  shown  the  picture,  had  told  him  to 
paint  Daniel's  right  hand  clenched,  to  express  more 
intensity  of  feeling,  and  that  he  had  altered  it  to 
please  Stuart,  or  in  deference  to  his  judgment.  But 
no  sooner  had  he  done  so  than  he  felt,  what  he  had 
anticipated  at  the  time,  that  it  destroyed  that  idea. 
Daniel  was  not  to  be  impassioned  or  intensely  ex- 
cited. His  attitude  was  to  be  that  of  calm  sublimity, 
and  in  contrast  with  the  varieties  of  excitement  por- 
trayed about  him.  .  .  .  The  handwriting  upon  the 
wall  was  not  finished.1 

We  found  ourselves  delicately  situated.  The  pic- 
ture had  been  partly  paid  for,  and  had  been  conveyed 
by  a  legal  instrument  to  the  subscribers.     It  was  per- 

1  Afterwards  we  saw  that  Allston  had  a  grander  conception.  The 
writing-  was  not  to  be  visible  to  the  spectator.  A  flood  of  supernatural 
light  from  between  the  columns,  and  the  direction  of  all  eyes  indicated 
the  place,  out  of  sight,  where  the  mysterious  writing  was.  [Note  in 
Diary  by  R.  H.  D.] 


1843.  WASHINGTON  ALLSTON.  11 

haps,  then,  partly  theirs;  or,  at  least,  they  had  a 
contingent  interest  in  it.  We  could  not  well  pro- 
ceed without  reference  to  them.  Yet,  covered  as  the 
picture  was  with  dirt  and  chalk  marks,  and  with  the 
king  painted  out,  without  cleaning,  varnish,  or 
frame,  the  proprietors,  not  artists,  would  not  under- 
stand or  value  the  picture,  and  it  would  be  vain  and 
an  injustice  to  Mr.  Allston's  reputation  to  subject  it 
to  such  a  test.  Would  it  not  be  wiser  to  call  in  one 
or  two  persons  on  whose  judgment  we  could  rely, 
and  in  whom  the  proprietors  would  also  place  confi- 
dence, and  let  them  give  their  advice  ?  We  thought 
it  would.  Having  determined  this  point,  we  had  no 
difficulty  in  deciding  who  those  persons  should  be. 
Mr.  Allston  had  always  relied  more  upon  the  judg- 
ment and  was  more  willing  to  trust  his  work  and  his 
relations  to  the  public  and  to  the  proprietors  of  his 
pictures  to  the  good  taste  and  discretion  of  Mr.  War- 
ren Dutton  and  Mr.  Franklin  Dexter,  than  to  any 
other  persons.  We  felt  that  in  selecting  them  we 
should  follow  the  wishes  of  the  deceased  better  than 
by  any  other  course.  We  agreed  accordingly  that 
they  should  be  invited  immediately  to  see  the  pic- 
ture. 

July  13.  Called  upon  Mr.  Dexter.  He  had  a  de- 
sign for  engraving  all  of  Allston's  sketches  and  un- 
finished pictures  in  a  volume,  as  outlines,  to  be  called 
Allston's  Compositions.  I  told  him  of  our  determina- 
tion to  consult  him  and  Mr.  Dutton  about  the  picture. 
He  seemed  much  gratified  and  agreed  to  meet  us  at  the 
room  at  any  time  Mr.  Dutton  should  say.  .  .  .  Go- 
ing up  the  street,  I  passed  a  tall,  intellectual  looking 
man,  with  such  a  face  and  manner  as  one  does  not  see 
every  day.     I  thought  it  might  be  he,  but  passed  on. 


78  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  27. 

I  next  met  Mr.  Dexter,  with  a  green  bag  under  his 
arm,  at  the  corner  of  Summer  Street.  He  proposed 
returning.  I  told  him  I  had  met  such  and  such  a  man. 
44  Oh,  that's  he  !  overhanging  gray  brows,  and  a  stern 
expression,  —  looks  like  a  dragon.  That 's  the  man." 
We  went  back  and  found  Mr.  Dutton.  After  some 
conversation  it  was  agreed  to  meet  at  the  room  at  four 
P.  M.  of  the  next  day.  Both  the  gentlemen  showed 
a  great  interest  in  the  subject  and  a  very  ready  zeal. 

July  14.  Friday.  Went  out  to  the  Port.  Spied 
Uncle  Edmund  and  Mr.  Greenough  going  towards  the 
room.  There  we  found  Mr.  Dutton,  waiting.  Mr. 
Dexter  soon  arrived,  and  we  went  in  together.  By 
the  use  of  a  sponge  with  tepid  water  the  picture  had 
been  brought  out  a  great  deal,  and  looked  like  quite 
another  thing.  After  nearly  two  hours  spent  in  its 
examination,  we  made  efforts  with  spirits  of  turperi^ 
tine  to  remove  the  shroud  from  the  king.  The  spirits 
had  a  little  effect  upon  the  extremes,  but  none  in  the 
centre.  It  was  then  agreed  among  us  all  to  make7 
an  attempt  the  next  day  with  the  proper  materials 
and  solvents,  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Greenough,  Mr. 
Dexter  being  present. 

Mr.  Dutton,  of  one  part  of  the  picture,  said,  "  I 
have  seen  nothing  in  Titian  equal  to  that,  for  color." 
And  speaking  of  the  group  of  females  between 
Daniel'and  the  soothsayers,  he  said,  "  I  have  never 
seen  a  group  equal  to  that,  except  in  Rubens'  Descent 
from  the  Cross ;  and  this  is  better  than  Rubens'  for 
drawing,  and  not  inferior  to  it  in  color."  All  agreed 
that  that  group  was  a  wonderful  composition  and 
wonderfully  colored.  They  said  that  for  color  it  had 
not  been  surpassed  by  anything  in  art. 

On  going  away  Mr.  Dexter  said,  "  I  can  say  that 


1843.  WASHINGTON  ALLSTON.  79 

my  expectations  have  been  fully  equalled."  "  Mine 
have  been  more  than  equalled,"  said  the  enthusiastic 
Greenough.  To  this  Dexter  answered,  "  It  would 
be  difficult  for  me  to  say  that  anything  could  have 
surpassed  my  expectations  of  this  work." 

Mr.  Dexter  having  agreed  to  meet  Mr.  Greenough 
at  the  room  the  next  morning  at  twelve,  we  sepa- 
rated. 

July  15.  Called  upon  Doggett,  the  picture-frame 
maker,  to  know  if  he  had  seen  the  picture.  He  told 
me  that  about  fifteen  years  ago,  when  the  picture  was 
in  Pearl  Street,  he  called  and  measured  it  for  its 
frame.  That  then  the  principal  figures  were  finished. 
I  questioned  as  to  the  dress  of  each.  He  said  the 
kins:  seemed  to  be  finished,  and  was  dressed  in  a  cloth 
of  orold.  This  corresponded  exactly  with  John  Green- 
ough's  description. 

In  the  evening  Ned  came  in  and  said  they  had  been 
through  many  alternations  of  feelings  at  the  room. 
Greenough  tried  his  solvent,  and  it  had  some  effect, 
but  seemed  to  bring  out  the  glazing  of  the  form  be- 
neath and  he  was  obliged  to  stop.  Mr.  Dexter,  after 
considering  it  attentively  for  some  time,  sent  for  some 
spirits  of  wine,  mixed  them  with  turpentine  and  ap- 
plied a  little  with  his  finger,  carefully.  This  evi- 
dently produced  some  effect,  but  Mr.  Dexter  declined 
doing  anything  further,  and  suggested  that  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  picture  should  be  got  together,  and 
their  authority  should  be  obtained  before  any  further 
experiments  should  be  tried  with  the  picture. 

July  17.  Another  interview  with  Dexter.  He  is 
oppressed  by  the  unfinished  state  of  the  picture  and 
the  confusion  arising  from  the  evident  change  of  plan. 
Yet  he  says  it  is  a  great  picture,  that  the  figures  have 


80  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  27. 

haunted  him  ever  since,  that  he  cannot  get  them  from 
his  mind,  and  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  art  superior 
to  some  parts  of  this  picture. 

July  19.  This  afternoon,  by  agreement,  Mr.  Dex- 
ter and  Mr.  Dutton  came  out  to  see  the  sketches, 
which  they  had  not  seen  before,  and  to  look  again 
at  the  picture,  in  order  to  form  an  opinion  as  to 
whether  the  paint  can  be  removed  from  the  king, 
and  whether,  if  removed,  the  king  will  correspond 
with  the  rest  of  the  picture  as  it  now  is.  .  .  . 

We  spent  some  time  in  the  room.  Dexter  sees 
great  signs  of  change  in  the  light  and  point  of  sight 
which  he  fears  will  involve  the  perspective  in  confu- 
sion. He  seems  almost  in  despair.  Dutton  is  more 
confident,  and  thinks  that  if  the  king  can  be  brought 
out,  the  picture  ought  to  be  exhibited.  They  both 
feel  most  sensibly  the  power  of  the  picture.  Mr. 
Dutton  said  he  had  dreamed  of  it,  and  had  it  before 
him  nearly  all  his  waking  hours. 

July  25.  Tuesday.  Mr.  Dexter  shows  a  letter 
from  S.  F.  B.  Morse  l  in  which  he  consents  to  come 
and  see  the  picture,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  D.  and 
ourselves,  and  that  he  shall  be  here  Wednesday  or 
Thursday. 

26.  Morse  says  it  is  a  grand  work.  It  grows  upon 
him.  .  .  . 

Morse  and  Dexter  and  Uncle  Edmund  discussed 
the  perspective  very  fully.  There  has  been  a  change 
in  the  point  of  sight,  and  a  partial  change  of  design, 

1  Before  conceiving'  the  idea  of  the  electric  recording1  telegraph 
[1832]  Professor  Morse  had  won  distinction  as  an  artist  and  sculptor. 
Though  twelve  years  younger  than  Allston,  Morse  had  accompanied 
him  to  London  when  he  returned  there  in  1811,  and  had  there  studied 
in  the  Royal  Academy  under  Benjamin  West.  His  early  efforts  in 
art  were  subsequently  eclipsed  by  his  fame  as  an  inventor. 


1843.  WASHINGTON  ALLSTON.  81 

the  alterations  necessarily  consequent  upon  which 
have  not  been  fully  carried  out.  Therefore,  there  is 
an  apparent  confusion  and  evident  want  of  complete- 
ness. Morse  says  that  every  line  aud  every  chalk 
mark  must  be  preserved,  in  order  to  show  the  inten- 
tions of  Allston.  .  .  . 

As  to  the  king,  Morse  says  that  he  saw  the  picture 
about  two  years  ago,  and  that  then  the  king's  head 
was  finished  and  open.  That  the  figure  was  painted 
over.  Both  he  and  Mr.  D.  say  that  the  king  must 
have  been  painted  over,  not  from  dissatisfaction  with 
the  conception,  but  in  order  to  enlarge  the  figure,  to 
do  which  had  become  necessary  from  altering  the 
point  of  sight.  He  had  begun  to  raise  the  Chaldeans 
in  the  extreme  right,  and  would  then  have  raised  the 
king  in  the  left.  The  right  hand  of  the  king,  lately 
painted  but  unfinished,  is  for  the  larger  figure.  It 
would  not  probably  correspond  with  the  figure  under 
the  embrorio.  The  queen's  figure,  about  the  waist, 
is  not  finished.  Daniel's  shoulder  is  incomplete.  The 
Chaldeans  are  quite  chaotic,  and  the  style  of  the  capi- 
tals of  the  front  columns  had  been  changed  from  the 
sketch  and  from  that  of  back  columns,  in  the  rear  of 
the  hall.  Morse  agrees  that  he  last  painted  on  the 
head  of  that  soothsayer  who  has  his  front  face  toward 
the  spectator. 

July  28.  Set  off  this  morning  at  seven  o'clock  in 
the  Western  cars,  for  Hartford  and  Wethersfield, 
with  S.,  little  Sally,  and  nurse,  to  leave  them  there 
for  a  month's  visit,  and  to  spend  a  few  days  with 
them  myself.  .  .  . 

At  Springfield  went  to  Warrener's  to  dine.  There 
found  Mr.  Ticknor  and  his  wife  and  daughter  and 
Mr.  Wm.  Gardiner.     Mr.  Ticknor  took  me  one  side, 


82  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  My.  27. 

and  asked  with  great  interest  after  the  picture  and 
Mr.  Allston's  matters.  He  had  been  absent  ever 
since  the  death.  He  had  known,  as  a  secret,  from 
A  lis  ton,  two  years  ago,  that  the  king  had  been  painted 
over,  and  be  said  Mr.  Allston  told  him  within  a  year 
(I  think  it  was)  that  he  had  at  last  fixed  upon  his 
final  design  with  which  he  was  satisfied,  and  that  lie 
should  never  change  it.  Mr.  Ticknor  asked  him  if 
he  might  not  alter  his  plan  in  some  parts  which 
would  make  labor  for  him  ;  to  which  Mr.  Allston 
replied  that  it  was  impossible.  Told  Mr.  Ticknor 
that  I  should  call  upon  him  in  Boston  as  soon  as  I 
returned. 


The  strong  impression  which  Allston's  individualit 
made  upon  Dana  did  not  diminish  with  the  lapsed!  time. 
On  the  contrary,  in  1852,  nine  years  after  the  artist's  death, 
a  house  in  Cambridgeport  in  which  he  had  lived  many  years 
was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  incident  freshly  revived  Dana's 
reminiscences  connected  with  it,  and  he  thus  referred  to 
Allston  in  his  diary  :  — 

1852.  August  20.  During  the  three  years  and  a 
half  I  was  a  student  at  Cambridge,  after  my  return 
from  sea,  my  Senior  year  and  my  two  and  one  half 
years  in  the  Law  School,  it  was  my  habit  to  spend 
there  one  evening  every  week.  I  walked  down  about 
dusk,  for  his  dinner  hour  was  after  dark,  he  had 
closed  his  painting  room  after  a  day  of  exquisite  or 
tormenting,  lacerating  or  soothing  labor,  the  candles 
in  their  silver  sticks  were  shining  over  his  table  cov- 
ered with  a  pure  white  cloth,  decked  with  a  few 
dishes,  his  never  failing  decanter  of  Madeira,  and 
after  a  warm  salutation  we  sat  down  at  table.  His 
dress  was  a  blue  coat  with  gilt  buttons,  drab  panta- 
loons, a  rich  brown  or  buff  waistcoat,  and  a  white 


1843.  WASHINGTON  ALLSTON.  83 

cravat ;  while  his  hair,  beautiful  even  in  age  with  the 
various  tints  of  gray  and  waving  curls,  crowned  the 
exquisite  beauty  of  his  regular  but  animated  features. 
His  day's  work,  be  it  fortunate  or  unfortunate,  is 
over.  There  is  nothing  more  for  him  to  do  but  to 
enjoy  ease  and  pleasant  society.  The  meal  is  pro- 
tracted, and  no  claim  of  helping  or  being  helped  is 
permitted  to  interfere  with  anecdote  or  criticism. 

When  the  dinner  is  removed,  the  glasses  remain, 
and  a  small  plate  containing  his  evening  cigar.  When 
this  was  lighted,  and  he  had  leaned  back  in  his  chair, 
and  the  wreathed  smoke  arose  like  a  halo  about  his 
curling  hair,  so  close  to  it  in  color  and  form  and 
lightness  that  you  hardly  knew  which  was  ascending 
into  the  air,  —  then  the  beauty  and  the  dream  of  life 
seemed  truly  to  have  begun. 

Take  him  for  all  in  all,  I  ne'er  shall  look  upon  his 
like  again  ! 

The  exquisite  moral  sense,  the  true  spirituality, 
the  kindliness  and  courtesy  of  heart  as  well  as  of 
manner,  the  corresponding  external  elegance,  the  ele- 
vation above  the  world  and  the  men  and  things  of  it 
—  where  have  these  ever  been  so  combined  before  ? 
The  wine  of  life  is  drawn. 


CHAPTER  V. 

VACATION  KAMBLES. —  THE  ISLES  OF   SHOALS. 

Towards  the  middle  of  August,  feeling  worn  out  by  con- 
stant office  work  in  the  midst  of  intense  heat,  Dana 
mined  to  go  to  the  Isles  of  Shoals  for  a  few  dayTbi  complete 
relaxation  in  that  sea  air  he  loved  so  well.  The  Shoals,  so 
familiar  now,  were  then  almost  unknown  as  a  place  of  sum- 
mer resort.  The  Leightons  had  just  begun  their  purchases, 
and  the  islands,  inhabited  only  by  a  fishing  population,  were 
in  the  primitive  condition  which  had  been  unbroken  for 
nearly  two  centuries.  There  was  no  house  of  entertainment 
yet  upon  them.  Dana's  long  account  of  this  visit  is  full  of 
freshness,  and  the  fact  that  the  Shoals  have  since  become  the 
resort  of  thousands  every  summer  gives  to  what  he  wrote 
in  those  earlier  days  a  peculiar  interest  now  :  — 

1843.  August  15.  Tuesday.  Woke  up  and  found 
it  raining.  Gave  up  my  plan  for  going  to  the  Isles 
of  Shoals.  Went  down  to  breakfast  in  town  and 
found  it  clearing  off.  By  ten  it  was  a  sultry,  close 
day.  Determined  again  to  go.  Sent  for  my  clothes, 
hurried  through  my  business,  left  directions  to  Ned 
and  Peck,  rushed  home,  threw  a  few  things  into  my 
trunk  and  valise,  and  hurried  off.  Just  reached  the 
steamer  at  eleven.  It  was  the  Telegraph,  bound  to 
Portsmouth.  The  run  down  in  her  was  very  pleas- 
ant, and  the  sea  air,  as  usual,  set  me  up  at  once.  I 
walked  the  deck,  to  and  fro,  nearly  the  whole  passage, 
and  felt  the  freedom  of  having  no  labor  to  perform, 


1843.  VACATION  RAMBLES.  85 

and  only  to  follow  the  will  and  thought  or  dream  of 
the  moment.  As  we  n eared  Cape  Ann  our  tiller 
rope  parted,  and  in  shipping  the  tiller  aft  I  rendered 
some  service  by  moving  a  tackle  for  the  tiller,  which 
introduced  me  to  the  pilot,  and  obtained  for  me  an 
invitation  to  the  wheel-house,  where  I  spent  an  hour 
or  so  learning  the  points  of  land,  their  bearings,  dis- 
tances, etc.  We  took  off  passengers  at  Rockport,  and 
went  quite  near  to  Pigeon  Cove.  This  put  it  into 
my  head  to  stop  at  the  Cove  on  my  way  back. 

Passed  the  Isle  of  Shoals,  so-called,  although  they 
are  a  group  of  seven  high,  rocky  islands.  The  light- 
house and  the  meeting-house  were  distinctly  visible. 
Reached  Portsmouth  at  five  P.  M.,  after  a  very  pleas- 
ant run.  .  .  . 

August  16.  Engaged  a  boat  to  take  me  to  "the 
Shoals,"  to  start  at  ten.  .  .  .  The  boatman's  name 
was  Jackson,  and  his  boat's  the  Temperance.  On 
our  way  down  he  pointed  out  the  chief  landmarks, 
and  gave  me  much  interesting  information.  After 
passing  the  Whale's  Back  and  steering  for  the  Shoals, 
which  were  barely  in  sight,  I  took  the  helm,  and  he 
went  to  sleep  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  As  I  neared 
the  easternmost  island,  Duck  Island,  a  large  wood 
sloop  tried  to  go  to  windward  of  me.  Being  on 
the  starboard  tack  and  she  on  the  larboard,  I  kept  on 
and  passed  across  her  house.  We  came  so  near,  how- 
ever, that  the  noise  of  the  water  under  the  sloop's 
bows  woke  up  Jackson,  who  started  to  see  a  heavy 
sloop  so  near  upon  him.  After  looking  about  a  few 
minutes  he  took  anothernap,  and  I  waked  him  as  we 
came  round  Duck  Island.  I  kept  the  helm  and 
steered  by  his  directions  through  the  channel  be- 
tween Hog  and  Smutty  Nose  Islands  and  into  the 


86  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mx.  28. 

cove  of  Star  Island,  where  he  was  to  leave  me.  The 
prospect  was  not  very  encouraging  as  we  walked  up 
to  the  house  where  I  was  to  put  up.  The  whole 
island  was  less  than  a  mile  square,  girt  with  rocks, 
with  very  little  vegetation  and  with  about  twenty  un- 
painted,  weather-stained  houses  scattered  about  near 
the  landing-place,  without  any  marks  for  streets  or 
fences.  The  whole  island  had  a  strong  fishy  smell, 
and  in  going  ashore  we  had  to  walk  over  a^surface  of 
fishes'  heads  and  bones,  which  the  fishermen  leave  on 
the  beach,  just  where  they  throw  them,  in  cleaning. 
Jackson  took  me  to  the  house  of  Joseph  Copwell,  the 
best  on  the  island,  and  the  only  one  where  any  com- 
pany is  received.  Copwell  is  a  pilot  as  well  as  a 
fisherman,  and  seems  to  be  a  leading  man  on  the 
island.  Jackson  soon  left  me  and  returned  to  town. 
As  he  went  I  told  him  I  should  be  going  up  Monday 
or  Tuesday.  "Oh, "said  he,  "you  won't  stay  here 
more  than  a  day  or  two."  He  did  not  know  the  mo- 
tive which  brought  me. 

August  17.  After  breakfast  went  fishing  in  a 
whale-boat,  with  two  boys.  I  managed  the  boat,  and 
the  boys  showed  me  places.  Caught  a  few  mackerel 
and  haddock.  Returned  to  dinner  at  twelve.  After 
dinner  sailed  out  again  in  a  small  boat  with  one  sail, 
and  beat  over  to  the  light-house  against  wind,  tide 
and  a  heavy  head  sea.  .  .  . 

Returned  to  Star  Island  to  supper.  Afterwards 
walked  again  upon  the  rocks,  which  are  very  grand, 
ragged  and  broken.  Some  large  crevices  and  ravines 
seem  to  have  been  formed  either  by  the  wasting  of 
many  centuries,  or  by  some  great  convulsion  of  na- 
ture. They  are  the  grandest  rocks  I  ever  saw,  as  I 
now  remember.     None  "which  I  have  seen  can  equal 


1843.  VACATION  RAMBLES.  87 

them,  unless  it  be  those  of  Nahant  and  a  part  of  the 
shore  of  San  Juan  Campestrano  in  California. 

August  18.  Friday.  After  breakfast  took  a 
boat  and  went  fishing.  After  fishing  for  some  time, 
landed  on  Hog  Island.  This  is  the  largest  island 
of  the  group,  being,  I  should  judge,  about  one  and 
a  half  miles  in  length  and  averaging  a  mile  in 
breadth.  It  is,  like  all  the  others,  a  mere  bed  of 
rocks,  with  a  few  patches  of  vegetation.  This  island, 
together  with  Smutty  Nose,  the  next  largest,  were 
bought,  during  the  last  year,  by  two  traders  from 
Portsmouth  by  the  name  of  Leighton.  They  were 
noted  rumsellers  and  loco-focoers,  and  the  people  on 
the  islands  are  afraid  that  they  will  revive  intemper- 
ance, which  has  been  quite  driven  out  from  among 
the  people  by  means  of  religious  efforts  and  the  total 
abstinence  pledge.  .  .  . 

Returned  to  Star  Island  to  dine.  After  dinner 
Cheever,  the  light-house  man,  came  over  in  his  boat, 
to  take  me  to  sail,  \yith  an  invitation  to  spend  the 
night  at  his  house.  For  the  sake  of  the  change,  and 
for  the  novelty  of  spending  a  night  in  such  a  place, 
as  well  as  because  Cheever  seemed  to  be  a  clever 
fellow  and  desirous  of  my  company,  I  accepted  the 
invitation,  although  I  had  made  arrangements  to  go 
off  after  hake  with  Shoalsmen,  who  go  every  night. 
Cheever's  boat  is  a  new  one,  just  built,  belonging  to 
the  government,  and  a  very  neat  boat  and  a  fast 
sailer.  He  takes  great  delight  in  her,  and  spends 
hours  every  day  in  sailing  about  among  the  islands. 
I  got  into  the  boat,  he  gave  me  up  the  helm,  being  a 
stranger,  the  breeze  was  brisk,  the  afternoon  clear 
and  pleasant,  and  putting  her  through  Hog  Island 
passage  and  sticking  her  right  off  to  seaward,  with 


88  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  jEt.  28. 

the  foam  flying  from  her  bows,  a  bright  gurgling 
wake  behind,  and  the  cool  sea  breeze  about  us,  we 
had  a  glorious  sail. 

Having  sailed  several  miles  due  east,  we  bore 
round  and  stood  again  for  the  islands.  Passing 
through  the  passage  between  Rog^and  Smutty  Nose, 
we  landed  upon  the  latter,  which  I  had  never  visited. 
A  small  pier  or  breakwater  makes  a  snug  harbor  for 
boats,  much  better  than  either  of  the  other  islands 
has.  It  is  in  rather  a  ruinous  condition,  and  only 
two  houses  on  the  island  are  inhabited.  It  once 
contained  a  population  of  four  hundred  or  five  hun- 
dred souls.  This,  however,  was  before  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  there  are  no  signs  of  its  former  prosperity 
but  the  pier,  a  few  hollows  where  cellars  were  once 
dug,  and  some  moss-covered  tombstones. 

One  of  the  Leightons  was  living  here.  He  is 
brother-in-law  of  Cheever,  who  was  very  anxious  that 
I  should  see  him,  and  introduced  him  to  me.  Cheever 
has  quite  an  admiration  of  Leighton's  abilities,  and 
told  me  that  he  has  been  for  many  years  in  the  New 
Hampshire  Senate,  was  the  Honorable  Thomas 
Leighton,  and  next  to  Levi  Woodbury  had  more  in- 
fluence with  the  dominant  party,  which  is  loco-foco, 
than  any  man  in  the  State.  All  this  may  be,  for 
many  such  men  we  have.  He  was  seated  on  the  pier, 
dressed  in  the  roughest  manner,  with  a  coarse,  dirty 
handkerchief  about  his  neck,  chewing  tobacco  and 
whittling  a  stick  with  a  jack-knife.  There  was  some- 
thing very  unprepossessing  about  him.  He  left  his 
seat,  and  kept  on  his  whittling  and  chewing  as  be- 
fore, and  only  made  an  unintelligible  sound  in  an- 
swer to  Cheever's  introduction.  I  saw  that  he  was  a 
character,  and  determined  to  try  him.     I  sat  directly 


184  3.  VACATION  RAMBLES.  89 

down  beside  him  and  entered  into  conversation.  At 
first  lie  said  but  little.  After  some  time  lie  inquired 
what  had  been  the  result  of  Wy man's  trial.  Having 
told  him  all  I  knew,  I  said,  "  How  is  it,  Mr.  Leigh- 
ton,  that  we  seem  hardly  to  be  trusted  to  manage 
money  matters?"  He  admitted  that  it  was  so.  I 
inquired  the  reason.  He  said  it  was  because  of 
foreign  luxuries  and  foreign  notions,  which  had  cor- 
rupted our  republican  simplicity.  I  answered  that 
public  faith  and  mercantile  honor  were  higher  in  the 
old  countries,  especially  in  England,  than  here.  To 
this  he  again  assented,  and  said  that  was  because 
money  was  everything  here,  all  could  make  it,  and 
he  who  could  make  the  most  was  at  the  head  of 
society,  while  in  England  this  was  qualified  by  he- 
reditary rank  and  blood,  which  no  money  can  buy. 
The  competition  and  the  temptation  were  less  uni- 
versal and  overpowering.  I  then  said  a  word  in 
favor  of  the  British  Constitution,  but  here  he  bolted, 
and  said  lie  hated  England  and  all  her  ways  ;  that 
he  liked  France  better.  He  then  spoke  highly  of 
Bonaparte.  I  told  him  I  never  knew  a  radical  who 
did  not  like  a  despot,  while  a  conservative  liked  a 
government  of  law.  He  said  he  had  thought  a  good 
deal  about  the  state  of  things,  and  doubted  if  our  in- 
stitutions could  stand.  Every  republic  before  ours 
had  been  a  failure,  etc. 

I  found  that  he  had  read  a  good  deal,  and  was  a 
sagacious  man,  but  had  strong  prejudices  and  a  dis- 
like of  established  laws  and  orders,  and  of  any  per- 
sons who  had  positions  better  than  his  own. 

At  this  time  it  began  to  look  like  a  thunder-shower 
and  we  left.  Cheever  took  me  over  to  his  light- 
house, and  as  the  weather  looked  rather  threatening, 


90  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEx.  28. 

I  consented  to  spend  the  night.  The  breeze  was 
cool  and  sea-ey,  and  the  view,  in  the  midst  of  thun- 
der clouds,  quite  grand.  After  tea  we  walked  out 
upon  the  rocks,  and  at  sundown  I  went  up  witli  him 
into  his  lantern.  The  evening  we  spent  in  a  very 
primitive  manner,  he  showing  me  a  parcel  of  old 
views  of  the  Tuileries  and  Sans  Souci,  which  I 
looked  over  carefully  and  approvingly,  translating 
the  French  for  him  at  the  bottom,  and  on  my  part 
gave  him  and  his  wife  a  detailed  account  of  the  bat- 
tles of  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill. 

His  wife  is  a  very  pretty  young  woman,  under 
thirty,  and  he  has  three  little  children.  On  going 
away,  I  gave  him  a  half  dollar  to  lay  out  in  pres- 
ents for  the  children  when  he  next  went  to  Ports- 
mouth. He  disliked  receiving  money,  but  I  told 
him  I  wished  to  make  his  children  a  present,  and  he 
knew  I  could  get  nothing  at  the  islands. 

August  19.  Saturday.  About  nine  this  morning 
he  took  me  back  to  the  Shoals. 

There  was  one  thing  in  the  case  of  Cheever  which 
illustrated  most  forcibly  the  unhappy  state  of  our 
country.  He  had  been  appointed  to  his  present  of- 
fice two  years  ago  upon  the  accession  of  General 
Harrison.  He  had  taken  great  pains  to  perform  his 
duties  well,  and  being  an  intelligent,  temperate  man, 
with  a  good  deal  of  ingenuity  and  the  organ  of  order 
well  developed,  he  has  filled  his  place  better  than  it 
has  ever  been  filled.  All  persons  who  know  any- 
thing of  him  agree  in  saying  this.  His  salary  is 
$600  per  annum,  out  of  which  he  has  to  pay  for  an 
assistant  whom  he  is  obliged  to  keep  always  on  the 
island  in  case  of  sickness  or  accident  to  himself,  and 
to  support  his  family.  .  Lately  the  collector  of   the 


1843. 


VACATION  RAMBLES.  91 


customs  at  Portsmouth,  by  whom  he  is  appointed, 
had  him  removed  and  a  Tyler  man  put  in  his  place. 
Cheever  now  trembles  in  his  shoes,  and  is  utterly  at 
a  loss  to  know  what  to  do.  The  state  of  politics  is 
so  confused,  and  the  movements  of  parties  so  unin- 
telligible, that  he  cannot  for  his  life  tell  where  to 
look  for  help.  .  He  has  everything  at  stake,  for  he 
has  a  family  to  support,  and  gave  up  a  good  trade  for 
this  office.  If  he  loses  it  he  loses  a  support,  and  may 
not  easily  find  another.  The  temptation  is  too  great 
to  be  resisted,  and  all  the  time  he  bored  me  with 
questions  about  politics.  Not  that  he  inquired  at 
all  about  the  principles  and  opinions  of  public  men 
and  parties,  —  that  was  unnecessary,  —  but  who 
would  succeed  ?  What  would  turn  up  ?  What  if  a 
man  should  support  Tyler,  would  Tyler  support  him  ? 
What  were  the  chances  of  Clay,  Calhoun  and  Van 
Buren?  In  the  medley  presented  to  him  he  knew 
not  where  to  put  his  foot,  and  yet  his  living 'de- 
pended upon  his  putting  it  down  somewhere,  and  that 
soon.  I  tried  to  talk  upon  fishing,*  boats  and  the 
like,  but  he  always  went  back  to  his  one  subject  of 
guessings  and  schemings.  The  state  of  servitude  this 
poor  man  was  in  was  truly  pitiable.  With  good  feel- 
ings and  good  principles  in  the  main,  he  had  come 
to  look  upon  politics  as  a  game,  and  one  in  which 
every  man  lay  down  his  money  upon  the  point  most 
likely  to  win.  All  other  notions  of  politics  and  pub- 
lic duties  were  effaced  from  his  mind.  This  is  not 
wholly  nor  chiefly  his  fault,  but  a  necessary  conse- 
quence of  those  pernicious  practices  which  have  been 
prevailing  for  the  last  fifteen  years,  —  which  began 
with  Jefferson,  were  revived  with  full  vigor  by  Jack- 
son, which  Van  Buren  had  little  need  to  exercise  but 


92  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mv.  28. 

never  repudiated,  and  which  his  party  always  pur- 
sued, which  the  Whigs  of  1840  were  afraid  fully  and 
heartily  to  disavow,  and  which  when  in  power  they 
carried  out  as  far  as  any  before  them  had  done,  and 
which  now  have  become  the  standing  rule  of  practice 
in  the  country. 

This  afternoon,  being  Saturday,  .the  Shoalsmen, 
who  never  fish  on  Sundays,  or  Saturday  evenings, 
cleaned  out  their  boats,  took  ashore  their  bait  and 
lines,  washed  and  cleaned  themselves  and  put  on 
clean  Sunday  clothes,  and,  the  afternoon  being  pleas- 
ant and  the  breeze  good,  sailed  about  in  their  boats 
for  pleasure.  This  is  the  only  recreation  the  islands 
afford,  and  I  am  told  that  they  depend  upon  a  pleas- 
ant Saturday  afternoon  to  take  their  families  out  to 
sail,  and  to  turn  into  a  pleasure  what  has  been  a  la- 
bor to  them  during  the  week.  The  clergyman  and 
his  two  daughters  went  out  in  our  boat,  upon  invita- 
tion of  two  of  the  islanders,  and  in  another  I  saw  an 
old  woman  seated  in  a  chair  which  her  descendants 
had  placed  for  her  in  the  stern  of  their  boat.  Some 
of  these  parties  went  to  the  other  islands  and  wan- 
dered about  them,  picking  berries  ;  some  went  to  the 
light-house,  and  others  merely  sailed  to  and  fro. 

I  took  one  sail  by  myself,  and  another  by  invita- 
tion of  a  fisherman  in  his  boat. 

Called    upon   the  clergyman,  the  Rev.   Mr. . 

Found  him  a  very  illiterate  man  of  the  Christian 
Baptist  persuasion,  and  apparently  as  weak  as  illit- 
erate. He  was  very  much  awed  by  the  presence  of 
a  Boston  lawyer  who  had  been  educated  at  Cam- 
bridge, for  he  had  received  nothing  that  could  by 
courtesy  be  called  an  education,  and  had  never  been 
in    a   town   larger  than   Portsmouth.     His  ideas  of 


1843.  VACATION  RAMBLES.  93 

Boston  and  her  wealth,  intelligence  and  greatness 
were  quite  magnificent.  He  told  me  that  he  had  had 
no  advantages,  and  that  a  difficulty  in  the  head 
which  came  on  whenever  he  tried  to  read  much  had 
always  prevented  his  studying.  He  had  a  wife  and 
three  children,  all  supported  upon  $ 300  a  year. 

Went  over  to  Cheever's  after  tea  in  a  wherry,  tak- 
ing with  me  two  strangers  who  were  on  the  island, 
to  see  the  light-house.  Found  Cheever  watching  the 
clouds  and  doubting  whether  to  take  his  boat  in. 
The  Shoalsmen  had  told  him  it  was  going  to  blow, 
but  there  was  so  little  appearance  of  it  that  he  at  last 
determined  to  anchor  her  off  with  two  anchors 
ahead,  and  let  her  ride. 

August  20.  Sunday.  Woke  up  this  morning 
with  a  heavy  gale  from  the  northeast  and  the  rain 
beating  against  the  windows.  The  vessels  of  the 
Shoalsmen  were  safe,  their  cove  being  protected  on 
that  side.  At  ten  walked  to  church  in  a  violent 
rain  and  gale.  Found  the  people  on  the  hill  watch- 
ing Cheever's  boat,  which  was  pitching  at  her  an- 
chors, the  sea  breaking  outside  of  her. 

The  congregation  consisted  of  about  twenty-five  per- 
sons, three  or  four  of  whom  were  hard-favored  women, 
ten  or  a  dozen  rough  fishermen,  and  the  remainder 
white-headed  and  brown-faced  boys.  Some  of  the 
boys  were  barefooted,  and  some  had  on  red  shirts  and 
no  jackets.  The  men  were  dressed  in  pea-jackets,  or 
round  blue  jackets.  The  sermon  was  from  the  text, 
"  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God 
in  vain."  Flat,  wandering,  and  miserably  weak  was 
the  performance.  The  poor  preacher  was  evidently 
much  impressed  with  the  presence  of  strangers,  and 
preached  for    us    much  as  Vincent  Crummies'  com- 


94  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  28. 

pany  played  for  the  London  manager.  Once  he 
alluded  to  his  own  want  of  education,  and  said  that 
there  were  some  present  who  could  tell  better  than 
he  could  such  and  such  things.  This  was  pitiable, 
and  only  served  to  lower  him  in  the  estimation  of 
his  people.  I  doubt  if  he  can  do  much  good  among 
these  people,  for  although  it  is  not  necessary  that 
their  clergyman  should  be  learned,  yet  they  are 
shrewd  and  need  a  man  of  more  force  and  common 
sense. 

P.  M.  On  coming  to  church  learned  that  Cheever's 
boat  had  swamped  close  by  the  rocks  on  his  island, 
but  was  kept  clear  of  the  rocks  by  her  anchors  which 
still  held  her.  With  a  telescope  saw  her  white  streak 
rising  and  falling  with  the  seas,  as  she  lay  water- 
logged on  her  beam  ends. 

After  church  walked  out  to  the  northeast  end  of 
the  island,  the  rain  having  ceased,  to  see  the  breakers. 
The  sea  was  very  grand.  The  long  heavy  swell  set 
in  to  the  land,  forming  into  high  combing  seas  as  it 
neared  the  shoaler  water,  and  breaking  and  rushing 
up  on  the  steep  craggy  rock  with  terrific  force  and 
a  deafening  clamor.  I  never  saw  so  large  seas  break 
on  any  shore  before.  They  rushed  over  rocks  of  the 
height  of  forty  and  fifty  feet,  and  sent  their  spray  far 
higher  into  the  air.  While  standing  on  a  high  rock, 
perhaps  the  highest  on  the  island,  and  at  a  distance 
from  its  edge  which  seemed  perfectly  safe,  I  was  wet 
through  to  the  skin  by  an  unusually  large  comber. 
The  swell  that  set  in  between  Star  and  Cedar  islands 
was  tremendous,  and  over  Cedar  Island  ledge,  which 
lies  about  half  a  mile  from  the  island,  the  seas  broke 
and  threw  themselves  up  into  sparkling  columns,  look- 
ing like  the  fountain  in  the  Park  when  at  its  highest 
play. 


1843.  VACATION  RAMBLES.  95 

In  the  afternoon,  when  the  seas  were  less  high,  the 
boys  took  a  large  Newfoundland  dog  down  to  the 
rocks,  and  in  spite  of.  all  their  efforts  to  keep  him 
back,  he  dived  off  from  a  low  rock  into  the  foaming 
billows,  and  after  being  sucked  off  to  a  distance  and 
then  thrown  up  towards  the  rocks,  and  turned  round 
and  over  several  times,  he  was  at  last  thrown  upon  a 
rock  to  which  he  clung,  and  by  it  scrambled  upon  the 
island.  We  thought  his  limbs  would  be  broken,  but 
so  little  frightened  was  he  that  he  wished  to  go  off 
again,  and  the  only  way  by  which  we  could  prevent 
him  was  to  walk  directly  back  to  the  houses,  to  which 
he  followed  us. 

The  sermon  in  the  afternoon  was  from  the  text 
which  expresses  the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath.  This 
congregation  amounted  to  fifty,  and  with  a  fuller 
house  and  pleasanter  weather,  the  preacher  was  more 
ambitious  and  more  unfortunate  than  in  the  morn- 
ing. I  could  not  have  endured  another  such  an  ex- 
ercise that  day,  nor  for  several  days  after  it.  .  .  . 

August  21.  Monday.  This  morning  the  rain  had 
ceased,  the  sun  was  out  bright,  and  the  wind  had 
moderated,  but  still  the  seas  were  high.  The  elder 
Copwell,  the  pilot,  tried  to  raise  a  party  to  go  off  in 
a  whale-boat  and  save  Cheever's  boat.  I  volunteered 
to  go  for  one,  and  one  other  man  offered,  but  he  could 
raise  no  one  else.  Some  said  that  the  seas  were  so 
high  that  we  could  not  go  near  the  boat,  and  others 
said  it  was  government  property,  and  Cheever  must 
raise  a  signal  if  he  wanted  help. 

Finding  that  a  crew  could  not  be  raised,  I  deter- 
mined to  go  off  and  see  what  was  the  situation  of  the 
boat  and  communicate  with  Cheever  if  possible. 
Taking  a  small  sail-boat,  and  the  two  strangers  who 


06  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  28. 

were  on  the  island,  who  could  barely  pull  an  oar  but 
were  entirely  unacquainted  with  the  management  of 
a  boat,  I  went  off.  On  approaching  the  boat  I  found 
that  the  sea  did  not  break  so  violently  as  I  supposed, 
and  I  ran  close  by  the  side  of  her.  She  lay  on  her 
beam  ends  filled  with  water,  the  sea  washing  over 
her,  one  mast  with  the  sail  on  it  being  gone  and  the 
other  lying  broken  alongside.  Seeing  Cheever  upon 
the  rocks  opposite  the  boat  I  ran  in  to  speak  with 
him.  He  pointed  out  a  smooth  place  under  the  lee 
of  a  ledge  which  lay  just  off  the  island,  and  there  I 
put  the  boat.  Taking  in  my  sail,  I  made  the  two 
men  row  while  I  steered.  Keeping  the  boat's  head 
out  and  her  stern  in  towards  the  shore  we  rose  and 
fell  regularly  in  the  swell,  now  and  then  pulling  an 
oar  to  keep  off  the  rocks.  My  men  were  awkward 
with  their  oars  and  a  good  deal  alarmed  by  their  new 
position,  and  sometimes  failed  to  pull  as  I  told  them, 
but  we  kept  ourselves  safe.  At  length  I  let  the  boat 
back  in  toward  a  large  steep  rock,  and  Cheever,  watch- 
ing his  chance,  jumped  on  board,  while  we  pulled  off 
briskly.  We  took  him  round  the  boat,  which  he  ex- 
amined, and  then  going  round  to  the  lee  side  of  the 
island  and  watching  a  smooth  chance,  landed  him 
again.  He  told  me  not  to  ask  the  Shoalsmen  to  come 
off  and  help  him,  but  that  if  they  wished  to  come  he 
should  be  happy  to  have  their  help,  as  they  must 
know. 

Returning  to  the  island,  I  found  that  the  men  had 
been  watching  my  boat  with  great  anxiety  from  the 
hill,  and  learned  that  one  old  fisherman  said  we  should 
be  lost,  that  no  boat  could  land  where  we  did,  and 
when  we  went  under  the  lee  of  the  ledge,  they  all 
thought  we  had  gone  over    it.     They  were    a    little 


1843. 


VACATION  RAMBLES.  97 


ashamed,  yet  persevered  in  refusing  to  go  and  aid 
Cheever,  putting  it  on  the  ground  that  as  the  boat 
was  government  property  he  must  ask  for  help,  or 
they  could  not  get  salvage,  for  the  boat  was  safe  where 
she  lay.  They  said  that  if  the  boat  had  been  Chee- 
ver's  private  property  they  would  have  gone  at  once. 
In  this  state  of  misunderstanding  the  boat  seemed 
likely  to  remain  untouched. 

After  dinner  the  Shoalsmen  went  off  to  catch  mack- 
erel which  the  northeaster  had  driven  in.  The  place 
they  went  to  was  off  Cedar  Point,  just  front  of  the 
Cedar  Island  passage.  The  sea  was  very  high  there, 
and  the  great  rollers  came  in  with  such  size  and  force 
as  to  make  it  dangerous  and  very  disagreeable  to  en- 
counter them  in  small  boats.  Nevertheless,  as  the 
Shoalsmen  were  out,  I  determined  to  go,  and  taking 
the  same  small  boat,  with  a  stiff  breeze  I  ran  through 
the  passage  and  off  to  the  ground  where  the  fishing 
boats  were  at  anchor.  The  rollers  were  so  high  and 
so  pitched  the  boats  about  that  only  a  quick  helm 
with  a  stiff  breeze  kept  them  from  being  capsized  or 
swamped.  I  came  to  anchor  off  the  point,  close  by 
two  other  boats  which  were  pitching  up  and  down  so 
as  to  stand  nearly  perpendicular.  My  boat  being 
small,  we  were  pitched  and  tumbled  about  at  such  a 
rate  that  it  completely  confused  me  and  made  me 
dizzy,  and  in  a  short  time  I  felt  sea-sick  and  vomited 
a  little.  Yet  I  kept  at  fishing  and  caught  several 
mackerel.  The  sea  was  so  rough  that  few  of  the 
boats  stayed  there  and  I  was  not  sorry  to  take  up 
my  anchor  and  be  off.  As  I  got  under  way,  a  man 
from  another  boat  hailed  and  told  me  not  to  go 
through  the  Cedar  Island  passage,  before  the  wind, 
that  all  the  boats  were  going  round  Star  Island.     So 


98  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  28. 

I  braced  up  and  went  round  Star  Island,  and  it 
being  late  ran  in  to  bail  Cbeever  before  night.  The 
surf  was  breaking  so  loud  upon  the  rocks  that  he 
could  not  hear,  and  so  high  that  it  was  impossible 
to  land.  He  made  a  signal  for  me  to  go  to  lee- 
ward. Here  I  could  communicate  with  him,  but  half 
the  words  were  lost  in  the  roar  of  the  surf.  He 
made  it  a  point  not  to  hoist  a  signal,  because  he 
thought  the  Shoalsmen  ought  to  come  without  one, 
when  they  saw  him  in  need.  I  could  not  make  my- 
self heard  well  enough  to  explain  to  him  that  they 
would  come  if  it  was  his  own  boat,  and  I  was  obliged 
to  leave  him. 

The  wind  was  ahead  for  returning,  and  the  sea 
was  very  high,  but  I  beat  the  little  boat  over  in  three 
tacks,  and  came  safely  to  moorings  before  night. 

August  22.  Tuesday.  This  morning  it  looked 
cloudy,  with  promise  of  rain,  and  the  fishermen  said 
we  should  have  several  days  of  bad  weather.  As 
there  was  a  boat  leaving  for  Portsmouth  at  ten,  I 
determined  to  take  passage  in  her,  since  I  had  given 
myself  a  good  spell  at  fishing  and  boating,  and  the 
fair  weather  seemed  to  be  at  an  end.  My  bill  at 
CopwelFs  for  a  week's  board  was  $2.50,  and  he 
would  take  nothing  for  the  use  of  his  boat  and  lines, 
since  he  had  the  fish  I  caught.  I  gave  his  daughter 
half  a  dollar  to  buy  something  for  herself  in  Ports- 
mouth when  she  next  went  up,  and  took  my  leave 
well  satisfied  with  my  stay  and  the  treatment  I  had 
received. 

We  had  for  passengers  in  the  boat  the  clergyman 
and  his  two  daughters.  The  elder,  Miss  Mary  Ann, 
about  eighteen,  had  never  been  on  the  island  before 
this  visit,  and  never  in  a  boat  before  but  once,  and 


1843.  VACATION  RAMBLES.  99 

said  she  did  not  expect  to  visit  the  island  again.  I 
did  not  ask  her  if  she  was  going  to  be  married.  She 
had  some  smartness,  had  been  well  taught  at  a  board- 
ing-school, I  presume,  and  seemed  to  treat  her  father 
with  far  too  little  respect.  The  younger,  a  black- 
eyed,  dark-complexioned  girl  of  about  fourteen,  was 
more  pleasing.  She  had  been  at  home,  and  was  to 
return  to  the  island  after  parting  with  her  sister. 
The  parson  appeared  better  in  the  boat  than  in  the 
pulpit,  though  but  indifferently  here. 

As  we  passed  Whale's  Back  it  began  to  rain  and 
continued  raining  quite  violently  for  half  an  hour. 
The  parson  produced  an  old  umbrella  with  which  he 
covered  the  young  ladies,  while  I,  having  my  boating 
clothes  on,  which  I  had  worn  during  the  whole  expe- 
dition, took  the  rain  as  it  came  and  got  pretty  well 
wet.  We  reached  the  wharf  at  about  noon,  and  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  I  was  in  my  chamber  at  the  Rock- 
ingham House. 

The  group  called  the  Isle  of  Shoals  consists  of 
seven  islands.  These  are  mere  beds  of  rock  with 
spots  of  vegetation  here  and  there.  Two  of  them, 
Duck  Island  and  the  Londoner's,  are  not  inhabit- 
able, being  mere  rocks,  upon  which  ducks  and  sea- 
birds  alight,  and  to  which  fishermen  make  fast  their 
nets.  White  Island,  on  which  the  light-house  stands, 
is  also  little  else  than  a  steep  rock  with  a  single 
patch  of  soil  about  the  keeper's  house.  It  would  not 
sustain  more  than  one  goat  from  its  own  produce. 
A  fourth  island,  called  Cedar,  is  not  inhabited,  and 
although  I  did  not  land  upon  it,  yet  my  impression  is 
that  it  is  hardly,  if  at  all  habitable.  The  remaining 
three,  which  are  the  largest,  have  always  had  a  pop- 
ulation upon  them.     Of  these,  the  largest  and  most 


100  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  28. 

fertile  is  Hog  Island.  Smutty  Nose,  or  Smotinose,  as 
it  is  spelled  in  the  old  MS.  records,  or  Smyna,  which 
tradition  says  is  its  proper  name,  is  the  second  in 
size  and  fertility.  Star  Island,  so-called  from  its 
shape,  being  nearly  circular,  with  rock  projections,  is 
now  the  most  populous,  and  has  always  had  as  much 
prosperity  as  any  of  them.  At  the  present  time  its 
entire  population  is  one  hundred  and  fourteen  souls. 
On  Hog  Island  there  are  but  two  houses,  recently 
built  by  the  Leightons,  who  mean  to  make  it  their 
headquarters.  Smutty  Nose  has  about  half  a  dozen 
houses,  in  a  decayed  condition,  and  a  population  of 
about  twenty  souls.  It  seems  likely  to  be  soon  de- 
serted. 

Before  the  War  of  the  Revolution  these  islands 
enjoyed  great  prosperity.  Their  fisheries  were  very 
profitable,  and  they  afforded  security  from  the  at- 
tacks of  the  Indians  who  molested  the  people  on  the 
main  land.  In  1730  the  population  of  the  group  was 
eleven  or  twelve  hundred.  Hog  Island  had  six  hun- 
dred of  them,  Smutty  Nose  and  Star  dividing  the  re- 
mainder. There  was  a  good  deal  of  property,  many 
men  of  influence  in  the  State,  physicians,  lawyers,  a 
well-paid  clergyman,  and  men  of  different  trades 
and  mechanical  arts.  The  war  opened  a  new  danger 
against  which  the  islands  were  unprotected.  This, 
together  with  the  decline  of  the  fisheries  and  the  re- 
moval of  fear  from  Indian  incursions,  soon  reduced 
the  prosperity  of  the  Shoals.  I  do  not  know  how 
low  they  got,  but  have  an  impression  that  the  entire 
population  has  been  as  little  as  eighty  or  ninety 
souls.  Some  twenty  years  ago  there  was  a  good 
deal  of  money  made  on  the  islands  by  three  men  of 
the  name  of  Haley,  Newton,  and  Cop  well,  the  for- 


1843.  VACATION  RAMBLES.  101 

mer  living  on  Smutty  Nose,  and  the  others  on  Star. 
They  were  reputed  to  be  worth  from  $10,000  to 
$30,000  apiece  ;  but  the  other  inhabitants  were 
quite  poor  and  intemperate  and  indebted  to  these 
three.  The  Haleys  ran  out  their  property  and  have 
disappeared.  The  descendants  of  Newton  and  Cop- 
well  still  live  on  Star  Island,  but  their  property  is  all 
gone,  and  they  labor  as  common  fishermen.  There 
are  two  or  three  houses  on  Star  and  one  on  Smutty 
Nose  which  look  as  though  they  might  have  been  in- 
habited by  people  somewhat  above  the  class  of  day 
fishermen,  but  excepting  these  signs,  and  the  decent 
gravestones  of  the  Haleys,  Newton  and  Copwells, 
and  of  one  or  two  clergymen,  I  saw  nothing  to  indi- 
cate a  previous  population.  Indeed,  I  could  hardly 
credit  the  story  that  these  islands  had  supported  so 
many  persons,  and  should  not  but  upon  the  best  au- 
thority. They  must  have  imported  all  their  wood 
and  nearly  all  their  hay  and  vegetables.  There  is  a 
tradition,  too,  that  a  school  flourished  on  Hog  Island 
at  which  the  sons  of  men  of  fortune  in  Boston  and 
other  parts  of  the  main  land  were  fitted  for  college. 

The  inhabitants  have  very  much  improved  in  their 
moral  condition  within  the  last  three  years.  Temper- 
ance has  spread  among  them,  and  no  ardent  spirits 
are  allowed  upon  Star  Island.  Drunkenness  was 
unknown  there  the  last  year.  It  is  said  that  the 
Leightons  mean  to  sell  spirits.  If  they  do  there  will 
be  a  fierce  contest,  for  either  they  or  the  islanders 
will  be  broken  up  by  it. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

WEIR,    MACREADY,    JUDGE    STORY    AND     HORACE 

MANN. 

While  Dana  was  at  work  in  his  State  Street  office,  his 
wife  and  child  were  passing  the  hot  weather  with  Mrs. 
Dana's  relations  in  Connecticut.  In  September  he  went  to 
Wethersfield  to  enjoy  a  few  days  with  them  before  they  all 
returned  to  Boston.  The  diary  contains  a  pleasant  glimpse 
of  happy  summer  hours  passed  in  the  country  town.  He 
arrived  on  a  Friday  evening. 

September  16.  Saturday.  This  day  opened  beau- 
tifully. The  rain  had  laid  the  dust  and  washed  the 
trees  and  grass,  and  cleared  the  air,  and  now  a  clear 
sun  rose  with  an  eastward  breeze  to  prevent  the  sul- 
triness of  the  summer's  heat.  The  birds  sang,  and 
through  the  trees  which  surrounded  our  window  we 
could  just  see  the  patches  of  sunlight  on  the  grass. 

The  happiness  which  the  day  ought  to  carry  with 
it  was  shown  in  the  expression  and  manner  of  the 
whole  family  as  they  assembled  for  prayers  and 
breakfast.  .  .  .  No  day  could  have  been  more  de- 
lightful. The  temperature  of  the  air  was  neither 
hot  nor  cold,  but  so  that  one  could  lie  down  with 
pleasure  upon  the  grass  under  the  shade  of  a  tree. 
Just  before  tea  we  walked  out  upon  the  hill  and  sat 
down  together  upon  a  gravestone.  The  view  was 
most  enchanting.  The  distant  hills,  the  greenness 
of  all  the  earth  and  its  growths,  the  smooth,  quiet 


1843.  COMMANDER  MACKENZIE.  103 

stream  of  the  Connecticut,  partly  hidden  by  trees, 
and  partly  winding  amidst  green  raked  meadows, 
now  and  then  a  sail  gliding  over  its  surface,  or  show- 
ing its  top  above  the  trees.  .  .  . 

September  17.  Sunday.  .  .  .  Before  tea  S.  and  I 
went  out  upon  the  hill  and  sat  together  in  the  grove, 
delightfully  enjoying  the  beautiful  air,  the  waving 
and  rustling  of  the  trees  over  our  heads,  and  the  still- 
ness and  freshness  of  all  nature.  We  wished  it  were 
so  that  we  could  spend  days  and  weeks,  as  we  had 
spent  these  two. 

The  following  day  they  returned  to  Boston  and  work,  for 
it  was  now  verging  towards  the  end  of  September,  and  the 
vacation  season  of  1843  was  over. 

September  19.  Commander  A.  Slidell  Mackenzie 
called  with  Lieutenant  Davis.  His  appearance  and 
manners  are  very  prepossessing.  He  is  quiet,  unas- 
suming, free  from  all  military  display  in  manner, 
self-possessed,  and  with  every  mark  of  a  humane, 
conscientious  man,  with  sound  judgment  and  moral 
courage.  He  is  unusually  interesting,  and  creates  a 
feeling  of  personal  affection  towards  him  in  those 
whom  he  meets.  Such  was  the  impression  he  pro- 
duced upon  me,  and  I  find  he  made  a  similar  impres- 
sion upon  all  who  fell  in  with  him  during  his  stay 
here. 

September  23.  Went  with  S.  to  see  Weir's  pic- 
ture of  the  embarkation  of  the  Pilgrims.  It  struck 
me  as  well  colored,  and  in  excellent  drawing,  though 
I  am  not  a  judge  of  such  things.  Several  of  the 
faces,  too,  I  liked  very  much,  as  the  handsome  and 
well-born  expression  of  Winslow  with  its  dash  of  Pu- 
ritanism, Robinson,  Standisb,  the  oldest  female  and 


104  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  28. 

sick  child.  But  I  cannot  understand  the  full  dress, 
ball-room  array  of  Mrs.  Winslow,  and  her  over- 
dressed, fantastic  aspect. 

25.  Breakfasted  with  Hillard  to  meet  Weir. 
Was  charmed  with  Weir.  I  do  not  know  when  I 
have  seen  a  man  who  gained  my  affection  and  confi- 
dence so  soon  and  so  completely.  Took  him  out  to 
see  the  Belshazzar.  He  stood  motionless  and  silent 
before  it  for  full  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  His  interest 
in  it  was  intense.  He  says  it  is  now  in  the  confusion 
of  a  change  of  horizon  and  point  of  sight.  Some 
parts  of  the  picture  are  in  one  design  and  other  parts 
in  another.  It  is  chaotic  ;  but  beautiful  in  its  parts, 
and  grand  in  its  design.  After  seeing  the  large  pic- 
ture I  showed  him  the  small  sketches  in  chalk  and 
brown,  and  the  unfinished  sketches  in  color.  Noth- 
ing could  exceed  his  delight  and  admiration.  Ho 
said  that  as  exalted  as  had  been  his  notion  of  A 11- 
ston's  genius,  these  things  raised  it  higher  ;  and  that 
they  must  be  engraved  and  preserved.  He  particu- 
larly mentioned  the  Christ  healing  the  Sick  ;  the  fe- 
male figure  from  life,  with  the  bare  arm  and  neck  ; 
the  chalk  sketches  on  crape;  and  theTitania's  Court. 

December  20.  It  having  been  agreed  that  the 
Belshazzar  should  be  cleaned  and  varnished,  without 
anything  done  in  the  way  of  change  or  restoration, 
we  employed  Chase  to  do  the  work,  which  he  has 
performed  to  our  entire  satisfaction.  The  subscrib- 
ers were  invited  to  see  it  for  this  day  and  the  two 
next,  and  accordingly  the  room  has  been  open.  The 
picture  is  so  changed,  and  so  completely  brought  out, 
that  we  hardly  knew  what  was  there  before ;  the 
various  parts  so  brought  into  harmony,  and  the 
strong  parts  so  noble  and  so  complete.      Mr.  Ticknor, 


1844.  WEIR.  105 

Mr.  Dexter,  Mr.  Dutton,  Mr.  Jonathan  Mason,  Mr. 
Harding,  the  artist,  are  all  in  a  state  of  highest  ad- 
miration. Father,  too,  is  so  encouraged  about  it, 
that  it  has  quite  put  him  up  in  health  and  spirits. 
It  is  now  agreed  that  Chase  shall  make  an  effort 
to  restore  the  king,  which  had  been  covered  up  by 
Allston.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  attempt  this,  as  we 
know  that  he  covered  it  up  not  from  any  dissatis- 
faction with  its  character  and  execution,  but  merely 
to  enlarge  it  in  conformity  with  an  altered  perspec- 
tive. 

1844.  January  13.  Moved  my  office  from  the  Old 
State  House  to  rooms  in  the  second  story  of  Gray's 
new  building,  30  Court  Street,  where  we  have  two 
new  rooms,  with  every  convenience  and  in  a  good 
neighborhood. 

February  1.  Went  out  to  Cambridgeport  with 
S.  to  call  upon  Mrs.  C.  D.  Gibson,  and  to  see  the 
picture  again.  Aunt  Martha  was  getting  ready  to 
come  into  town  for  the  winter.  The  king  has  been 
restored  as  far  as  possible.  He  is  in  a  very  defaced 
state,  from  the  use  of  the  pumice  by  Mr.  Allston  be- 
fore he  painted  it  over,  but  it  adds  greatly  to  the 
effect  of  the  picture. 

P.  M.  The  harbor  being  frozen  entirely  over, 
through  its  whole  width,  and  as  far  clown  as  the  Long 
Island  Light,  and  a  company  having  engaged  to  cut 
a  ship  channel  through  the  whole  length,  from  the 
wharves,  I  went  down  to  see  the  work  in  company 
with  hundreds,  or  rather  thousands,  of  others.  The 
scene  was  peculiar  and  exciting  in  the  extreme.  The 
whole  harbor  was  one  field  of  ice,  frozen  on  a  perfect 
level,  though  somewhat  roughly  in  parts,  and  strong 
enough  to  bear  heavy  loads  of  merchandise  drawn  by 


106  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  28. 

cattle.  Two  gangs  of  men  were  at  work%  one  begin- 
ning at  the  wharves  and  cutting  down,  the  other  be- 
ginning at  the  clear  water  and  cutting  up.  Each 
gang  numbered  over  a  hundred.  Perhaps  there  were 
four  hundred  workmen  in  all.  For  lookers-on,  there 
seemed  to  be  half  the  city  and  surrounding  country, 
some  in  sleighs,  some  on  skates,  and  some  on  foot. 
Females  and  children  walked  fearlessly  from  Long 
Wharf  to  the  Castle,  and  enjoyed  it  highly.  Among 
other  persons,  I  met  Mr.  Theodore  Lyman  with  his 
two  daughters.  There  were  merchants,  lawyers, 
clergymen,  and  people  of  every  description,  some  of 
whom  had  not  been  on  skates  for  twenty  years. 
There  were  booths  erected  for  the  sale  of  refresh- 
ments, at  different  parts  of  the  track,  and  from  the 
end  of  Long  Wharf  to  the  place  where  the  lower 
gang  was  at  work,  a  distance  of  five  miles,  there  was 
a  well-marked  foot-way,  and  travellers  upon  it  were 
as  frequent  as  on  the  great  highway  to  a  city  on  a 
festival  day.  I  skated  down  as  far  as  the  ice  would 
allow,  which  was  within  about  a  mile  of  Long  Island 
Light,  and  across  to  Fort  Warren  and  East  Boston. 

In  the  winter  and  early  spring  of  this  year  Dana  went  on 
a  lecturing  trip,  in  the  course  of  which  he  visited  Washing- 
ton for  the  first  time.  From  thence  he  wrote  the  following 
letter  to  his  wife.  The  explosion  on  board  the  Princeton 
occurred  on  the  28th  of  February,  and  the  Griswold  re- 
ferred to  in  the  beginning  of  the  letter  was  Rufus  W.  Gris- 
wold, author  of  "  Poets  and  Poetry  of  America." 

Sunday  evening,  March  3.  Was  sitting  writing  in 
my  hotel  when  a  sudden  pounding  on  the  door,  and 
in  rushed  Griswold  again,  breathless  and  panting,  to 
tell  me  that  there  had  been  a  blow  up  on  board  the 
Princeton,   and   Upshur,    Gilmer,   etc.,   etc.,   killed. 


1844.  MOUNT   VERNON.  1C7 

From  this  moment  there  was  nothing  but  excitement 
and  consternation  all  over  the  city,  and  rumors  flying 
about.  Was  there  ever  anything  like  the  ill  luck 
that  attends  this  man,  John  Tyler !  The  president, 
two  secretaries  of  state,  one  secretary  of  the  navy, 
and  these  other  three  men,  died  and  killed,  his  own 
body  servant  killed,  the  postmaster-general  stabbed, 
and  yesterday,  on  coming  from  the  funeral,  his  car- 
riage ran  away,  and  his  servant  was  thrown  oil  and 
all  persons  in  it  and  near  it  put  in  danger.  While 
the  procession  was  moving  to  the  capitol  a  purser  in 
the  navy  died  in  the  city,  and  Friday  afternoon  a 
member  of  Congress  from  Pennsylvania  died  near 
the  capitol.  .  .  . 

The  best  fact  in  my  letter  I  leave  to  the  last.  I 
went  to  Alexandria,  Friday,  called  on  Mr.  Dana, 
whom  I  knew  to  be  the  clergyman  of  the  Washington 
family,  and  rode  down  with  him  to  Mount  Vernon. 
We  had  good  horses,  the  day  was  a  delicious  one, 
like  our  best  days  in  the  early  May  ;  Mr.  Dana 
knew  the  localities  well,  and  pointed  out  the  resi- 
dences of  the  gentlemen  as  we  passed  them,  with  an- 
ecdotes of  each,  and  ushered  me  into  Mount  Vernon. 
I  cannot  attempt  to  describe  Mount  Vernon,  but  will 
only  tell  you  to  say  to  father  that  he  must  go  to 
Mount  Vernon,  if  he  passes  through  Washington, 
without  looking  to  the  right  hand  or  the  left.  It  is 
the  most  impressive  place  in  America.  It  leaves  an 
effect  upon  the  feelings  not  to  be  erased.  The  long 
drive  through  the  woods  over  the  rude  carriage  path, 
the  plain  wooden  gate  which  swings  to  after  you,  the 
old  negro  porter  who  stands  by  it  and  lets  it  shut 
itself,  and  answers  pleasantly  with  a  touch  to  the  hat 
when  you  ask  him  if  his  mistress  is  at  home  and  how 


108  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  My.  29. 

she  does,  the  ancient  house,  kept  at  some  expense  from 
decay,  with  its  high  piazza,  under  which  Washington 
walked  to  and  fro  every  day,  the  whole  inside  of  the 
house  taking  you  back  to  the  Virginia  of  1780,  the 
noble  Potomac  rolling  at  the  foot  of  the  mount,  the 
ancestral  trees,  the  tomb,  the  silence,  the  solemnity, 
the  elevation  of  all  about  you,  unite  to  raise  you  and 
take  you  back  to  the  grandeur  of  an  heroic  age. 
What  a  possession  is  this  noble,  but  simple  estate, 
with  the  sentiment  moulded  into  it  by  time,  for  the 
young  proprietor  who  has  succeeded  to  it.  The 
wonder  is  that  he  is  not  as  in  a  dream,  or  borne 
down  by  the  sense  of  what  is  around  him. 

The  venerable  Mrs.  Washington,  the  widow  of  the 
late  and  mother  of  the  present  proprietor,  was  there, 
and  we  sat  with  her  for  some  time.  She  is  a  digni- 
fied, simple-mannered,  kind  woman,  and  Mr.  Dana 
says  has  a  religious  character  which  would  season  a 
dozen  ordinary  Christians.  Her  son,  the  present 
proprietor,  Mr.  John  Augustin  Washington,  a  young 
man  of  two  and  twenty,  did  the  honors  of  the  place. 
He  was  married  last  year,  and  has  a  daughter  about 
ten  days  old,  so  that  we  were  in  sympathy  from  hav- 
ing each  a  single  child,  —  a  daughter.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  the  University  of  Virginia.  A  more  easy, 
natural,  frank,  yet  high-spirited  and  well-cultivated 
man  I  have  rarely  seen.  There  is  something  about 
the  manners  of  the  Virginia  gentlemen  which  you 
don't  find  elsewhere.  Plain  in  their  dress,  simple  in 
their  manners,  the  question  whether  they  are  doing 
the  right  thing,  comme  il  faut,  whether  this  or  that 
is  genteel  or  not,  never  seems  to  occur  to  them,  or  to 
have  any  place  in  their  minds.  There  is  a  freedom 
of  true   gentility,  as  well   as   of   true  Christianity, 


1844.  THE   VIRGINIA    GENTRY.  109 

while  many  men  aim  at  the  mark  by  striving  to  do 
the  deeds  of  tbe  law,  not  having  the  guide  within, 
and  are  all  their  lifetime  suffering  bondage.  I  took 
a  great  fancy  to  this  Mr.  Washington  and  to  his 
mother,  as  you  see. 

We  rode  back  to  town,  which  we  reached  by  night- 
fall, and  it  being  too  late  to  return  to  Washington,  I 
passed  the  night  at  Alexandria  and  spent  the  evening 
at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Fitzhugh,  widow  of  a  Virginian 
of  wealth  and  distinction,  herself  a  Goldsborough  of 
Maryland,  an  old  Federal  family,  where  I  met  Mr. 
Robert  Lee,  son  of  General  Lee  of  the  Revolution, 
heir  to  the  Custis  property,  and  brother  of  Charles 
Carter  Lee,  whom  father  knew  at  Cambridge,  two 
granddaughters  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  and  two  other 
young  ladies  of  the  Floyd  and  Mason  families,  —  all 
of  the  old  Federal  Virginia  aristocracy,  and  all  strong 
Church  people  and  regular  attendants  on  all  occa- 
sions. Mr.  Lee  rode  seven  miles  that  afternoon  to 
the  Friday  service  of  Lent.  Mrs.  Fitzhugh  was  more 
like  Mrs.  Arnold  than  any  other  woman  I  have  seen. 
So  you  see  I  am  quite  insane  about  Virginia.  It  has 
a  dark  side,  however,  and  the  issues  of  its  life  are 
uncertain. 

Yesterday  we  had  a  great  funeral  solemnity,  pro- 
cessions, minute  guns,  etc.  I  went  to  one  of  the 
Episcopal  churches  to-day,  which  was  quite  full. 
The  Unitarian,  at  the  next  door,  almost,  was  quite 
thin,  I  am  happy  to  be  informed. 

The  summer  vacation  of  1844  Dana  devoted  to  a  trip  in 
the  mountains  and  among  the  lakes  of  Maine.  As  he  re- 
turned from  it  he  closed  a  letter  to  his  wife,  dated  from 
Cape  Cottage,  Portland  Harbor,  in  the  following  way,  char- 
acteristic of  him  in  every  respect :  — 


110  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mv.  29. 

Wednesday  evening,  August  28.  I  Lave  been  suc- 
cessful in  everything.  I  have  had  fine  weather,  the 
best  of  health  and  spirits,  have  seen  everything  to 
advantage,  and  have  enjoyed  every  minute.  Where 
I  am  now  writing  the  sea  roars  in  my  ear,  the  light- 
house throws  its  light  across  the  water,  and  white 
sails  are  stealing  up  the  harbor  by  the  moonlight. 
I  was  in  love  with  the  country,  the  mountains  and 
lake,  and  thought  it  a  delight  to  be  among  them,  and 
now  when  I  see  "  Old  Ocean's  gray  and  melancholy 
waste,"  and  hear  its  voices,  my  first  love  returns  with 
an  overcoming  power.  I  feel  as  though  I  had  been 
so  favored  at  every  step  that  I  ought  not  to  hope  for 
only  good.  *  "  Have  we  received  good  at  the  hand  of 
the  Lord,  and  shall  we  not  also  receive  evil  ?  " 

September  13.  The  Parish  of  the  Advent  incor- 
porated itself,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  draw- 
up  a  constitution.  There  were  thirteen  members 
present. 

In  the  autumn  of  1844  Macready,  the  English  tragedian, 
visited  Boston,  and  Dana  met  him  socially  a  number  of 
times,  though  they  never  had  much  conversation  together. 
A  strictly  moral  as  well  as  a  religious  man,  Dana  still  re- 
tained the  old  New  England  prejudice  against  theatres,  as 
being  sinks  of  iniquity  and  little  better  than  assignation 
houses.  He  never  until  later  years  visited  them  ;  but  in 
the  case  of  Macready  he  made  an  exception.  A  number  of 
gentlemen  had  secured  the  Melodeon  for  a  series  of  sub- 
scription performances,  and  their  names  and  the  actor's  pri- 
vate character  Dana  accepted  as  a  sufficient  warrant  that 
all  would  be  right.  Accordingly,  he  subscribed  and  went 
with  his  wife,  seeing  for  the  first  time  the  parts  of  Hamlet, 
Shylock  and  Macbeth  rendered  by  an  actor  of  note.  The 
performances  were  the  talk  of  the  town,  and  to  Dana  they 
were  a  revelation.     "Truly,"  he  wrote  of  Hamlet,  "it  is 


1844.  MACREADY.  Ill 

great  playing.  But  what  a  glorious  play  !  You  are  lost 
admiration  of  the  play  itself.  What  a  miracle  that  it 
should  ever  have  been  written !  "  Then  three  days  later 
he  dines  with  a  small  company  at  Professor  Channing's. 
"  Nothing  talked  about  but  Hamlet.  The  professor  says  he 
had  seen  Kean,  and  thought  no  acting  could  suit  him,  and 
he  feared  he  was  getting  too  old  and  frosty  to  be  moved  by 
it  now ;  but  this  put  him  into  raptures.  Again  and  again  he 
came  back  to  it.  Passage  after  passage  was  repeated  and  dis- 
cussed, and  the  beauties  of  the  performance  grew  upon  us." 

October  14.  This  evening  went  to  see  the  Mac- 
beth, which  was  Macready's  benefit.  He  played  ad- 
mirably, but  never  was  a  play  so  destroyed  by  the 
accompaniments.  The  witches,  the  murderers,  and 
the  ghost  of  Banquo  were  ludicrous  and  provoking. 
The  audience  laughed,  and  it  was  irresistible  to  see 
two  paltry,  chicken-hearted  lads,  one  lisping  and  the 
other  squinting,  saying,  "  I  am  one  whom  the  vile 
blows  and  buffets  of  the  world  have  so  incensed  that 
I  am  reckless  what  I  do  to  spite  the  world." 

His  conception  of  the  character  seemed  to  me  ex- 
cellent. He  looked  like  a  noble  chieftain  and  a  heroic 
soldier,  and  yet  when  he  comes  in  comparison  with 
the  mind  of  his  wife,  and  he  turns  his  thoughts  to 
the  consequences  of  his  act,  there  is  almost  a  weakness 
about  it.  His  speaking  of  the  passage,  "  better  be 
with  the  dead,  —  Duncan  is  in  his  grave,"  was  beyond 
comparison.  Miss  Charlotte  Cnshman  acted  Lady 
Macbeth  faultlessly.  Many  persons  of  good  taste 
about  us  said  that  she  did  it  much  better  than  Fanny 
Kemble,  especially  in  the  sleep-walking  scene,  which 
Fanny  Kemble  declaimed,  and  Miss  Cushman  whis- 
pered or  uttered  in  a  low  convulsed  agony.  The  first 
word,   "  out,"  was  given  in  a  tone  perfectly  dream- 


112  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  29. 

like.  So  was  nearly  all.  It  was  broken,  wandering, 
low,  convulsed,  and  agonizing. 

October  15.  This  evening  Macready  took  bis 
leave  of  his  Boston  friends  by  giving  them  an  en- 
tertainment at  Papanti's  Hall.  It  was  one  of  the 
prettiest  and  most  successful  things  I  ever  knew,  and 
quite  original. 

He  had  about  three  hundred  people  of  the  highest 
fashion  and  intelligence  in  the  city,  and  a  great  part 
of  the  clergy.  Among  them  were  Mr.  Webster,  Mr. 
Choate,  Chief  Justice  Shaw,  President  Quincy,  Ab- 
bott Lawrence,  Nathan  Appleton,  and  other  distin- 
guished public  men,  the  Ticknors,  Eliots,  D wights, 
Nortons,  Searses,  Otises,  Quincys,  etc.,  and  Longfel- 
low, Felton,  Hillard,  etc.  The  hall  was  brilliantly 
lighted,  and  filled  with  chairs,  placed  in  rows.  Ma- 
cready sat  on  a  small  platform,  with  a  desk  before 
him,  and  read  sitting.  He  first  read  Dryden's  song 
for  St.  Cecilia's  Day,  beginning  "  From  harmony, 
from  heavenly  harmony,"  then  Wordsworth's  "  Old 
Cumberland  Beggar,"  then  "O'Connor's  Child," 
and  ended  with  the  scene  from  Henry  IV.  part  2d, 
beginning  where  the  king  asks  Clarence  where  the 
prince  is,  and  going  through  to  the  death. 

Between  each  reading  there  was  an  interval  of 
about  ten  minutes,  when  the  gentlemen  walked  about 
and  talked  to  the  ladies,  and  between  the  second  and 
third  readings  there  was  lemonade  handed  about. 

Soon  after  the  reading  closed  the  doors  to  the  sup- 
per room  were  opened,  Macready  led  in  a  lady,  and 
the  rest  of  the  company  soon  followed.  Here  were 
ices,  salads,  champagne,  and  the  usual  supper-table 
accompaniments.  This  over,  we  took  our  leave  of 
our  host  and  departed,  delighted  with  the  entertain- 
ment in  every  respect. 


1844-45.  JUDGE  STORY.  113 

The  Ode  he  read  with  skill  and  force.  The  Old 
Beggar  he  gave  with  all  the  refinement  and  delicacy 
it  requires.  It  was  melting  ;  but  O'Connor's  Child 
took  the  heart  out  of  you.  The  scene  from  Henry 
IV.  was  read  with  great  skill  and  feeling. 

The  whole  affair  was  novel,  brilliant  with  beauty 
and  distinction,  and  exciting  and  interesting  from  his 
performances,  and  must  have  been  grateful  to  him- 
self. 

December  1.  Sunday.  The  first  public  worship  of 
the  " Church  of  the  Advent"  was  held  this  day, 
being  Advent  Sunday.  We  had  prepared  a  hall  in 
the  second  story  of  No.  13  Merrimack  Street,  with 
bare  walls  and  wooden  benches,  but  a  chancel  neatly 
railed  off  and  simply  fitted  up,  a  pleasant  house  organ, 
and  a  full,  reverential  and  exceedingly  interested  con- 
gregation. The  services  were  conducted  in  the  best 
possible  manner  by  the  rector,  Mr.  Croswell,  the 
music  was  excellent,  Charlotte  singing  the  first  part, 
and  the  sermon  very  impressive  and  appropriate. 
Then  we  had  the  communion  administered  to  between 
forty  and  fifty  communicants.  Everything  is  auspi- 
cious, so  far. 

1845.  September  5.  Great  meeting  of  the  bar  on 
the  occasion  of  the  death  of  Judge  Story.  Never  did 
the  bar  appear  in  such  strength,  and  rarely  have  I 
known  a  more  impressive  scene.  The  notice  was  given 
for  ten  o'clock,  and  from  a  few  minutes  before  until  a 
few  minutes  after  the  members  flowed  in  in  a  stream, 
filling  up  not  only  the  bar,  but  every  seat  in  the  room, 
the  witness  and  jury  seats,  and  the  places  for  specta- 
tors ;  and  the  whole  company  were  lawyers.  Prob- 
ably not  a  lawyer  in  the  city  was  absent  who  had  the 
physical  power  to  come.     More  than  half  the  younger 


114  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  2Et.  30. 

members  bad  been  pupils  of  the  judge.  Among  the 
older  were  faces  which  were  unknown  to  the  junior 
members  of  the  bar,  which  had  not  been  seen  in  court 
for  twenty  years.  Webster  moved  the  resolutions  in 
a  dignified  and  feeling  speech.  Old  Judge  Davis  sec- 
onded them.  Then  the  venerable  Jer.  Mason  moved 
a  resolution  that  Mr.  Webster  be  requested  to  pre- 
pare a  eulogy,  which  Judge  Sprague  seconded.  Chief 
Justice  Shaw  presided. 

September  18.  Professor  Greenleaf  pronounced  a 
discourse  upon  Judge  Story  before  the  Law  School 
and  the  University.  His  audience,  beside  ladies  and 
strangers,  consisted  of  nearly  all  the  officers  and  stu- 
dents of  the  college,  over  a  hundred  law  students,  and 
a  large  proportion  of  the  Boston  bar.  The  discourse 
was  written  in  a  simple,  earnest  and  feeling  manner, 
and  delivered  in  a  corresponding  manner.  I  never 
saw  more  fixed  attention.  When  he  closed,  every 
man  seemed  to  move  in  his  seat  for  the  first  time. 

The  last  time  I  ever  saw  that  most  amiable,  single- 
hearted  and  industrious  of  men,  Judge  Story,  was  in 
his  own  court.  During  an  interval  in  an  argument  I 
stepped  up  to  the  bench  to  ask  whether  I  should  make 
a  motion.  But  this  was  not  enough  for  him.  He 
could  not  meet  a  pupil  without  a  greeting.  He 
moved  from  his  seat,  his  face  beamed  with  kindness, 
and  he  shook  me  by  the  hand  in  the  most  cordial  man- 
ner, and  then  listened  to  my  business.  I  believe  this 
was  the  last  day  he  sat  in  court.  If  not  the  last  it  was 
near  it,  for  his  death  was  about  a  fortnight  after. 

December  9.  Arrived  at  Philadelphia  at  three 
o'clock.  ...  I  went  to  the  United  States  Hotel, 
ordered  a  fire  in  my  room,  and  after  dinner  sat  down 
to  read  over  my  lecture.    While  reading  heard  a  loud 


1845.  NEWSPAPER  REPORTER.  115 

knock  at  my  door.  Had  hardly  answered  it  before  it 
burst  open,  and  in  tumbled  a  short,  fat,  greasy-look- 
ing man,  with  a  soiled  neck-cloth  and  wet  black  hair, 
quite  out  of  breath,  and  breathing  like  a  porpoise. 

"  Mr.  Dana,  I  presume.  Mr.  R.  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  from 
Boston  ?  "  "  Yes,  sir."  "  You  lecture  to-night  before 
the   Mercantile  Library  Association."     "  Yes,  sir,   I 

hope  to."     "  Well,  sir,  I  am  Mr. of  the . 

You  may  know  the  paper  if  you  don't  know  me." 
I  told  him  I  knew  the  paper  by  reputation.  He  then 
apologized,  said  he  was  oat  of  breath,  was  large  and 
tired,  and  took  a  chair.  He  told  me  that  it  was  their 
custom  to  give  a  notice  of  the  lecture  in  the  paper  of 
the  next  morning ;  that  it*  they  employed  a  reporter 
they  could  not  set  it  up  in  season  ;  and,  in  short,  that 
he  would  be  much  obliged  to  me  if  I  would  give  him 
a  sketch  of  my  lecture  for  the  press. 

I  asked  him  if  it  was  usual  to  do  this.  He  assured 
me  that  it  was,  and  was  considered  perfectly  proper. 
Without  more  ado,  he  moved  his  chair  up  to  the  table, 
took  off  his  great  coat  and  India  rubbers,  drew  from 
his  pocket  a  roll  of  foolscap  paper  which  he  put  on 
the  table,  took  from  another  pocket  an  inkstand  and 
quills,  and  proceeded  to  make  a  pen.  He  then  de- 
sired me  to  give  him  the  heads  of  the  lecture,  and 
planting  himself,  ready  for  action,  said,  "  ■  American 
Loyalty,'  well,  go  on,  sir,  if  you  please." 

I  told  him  what  my  first  point  was.  "  I  shall  put 
it  in  the  third  person,"  said  he,  and  began  repeating 
aloud,  as  he  wrote,  "  The  lecturer  opened  with  a 
happy  allusion."  "  Now,  go  on,  if  you  please,  sir," 
and  took  down  my  first  point.  "  Done !"  said  he, 
and  looked  up  for  some  more.  I  then  gave  him  the 
second  head.     Still  muttering  in  the  same  undertone, 


116  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  My.  30. 

"  The  orator  next  forcibly  and  clearly  defined  and 
illustrated" —  he  took  down  my  second  point.  The 
next  paragraphs  he  varied  by  "  Mr.  Dana  proceeded," 
or  "  Mr.  Dana  then  eloquently,"  etc.,  and  so  on  to  the 
end. 

"  Now,"  said  he,  "  a  lecturer  usually  has  some 
favorite  sentences,  some  pet  forms  of  expression,  or 
the  like,  some  passages  more  high  wrought  than  the 
rest.  Suppose  you  give  me  some  of  these.  Select 
'em  for  yourself." 

This  was  a  ridiculous  position.  I  had  some  thought 
of  breaking  off  with  him,  and  telling  him  I  did  not 
quite  like  the  manner  of  proceeding,  but  he  was  good- 
natured  and  seemed  to  depend  upon  it,  and  it  was  a 
difficult  thing  to  do.  I  told  him  I  had  some  sentences 
which  had  been  applauded  in  other  places,  and  which 
I  rather  relied  upon  to  hit  the  humor  of  the  audience. 
"  That 's  it,"  said  he,  "  that 's  what  I  want.  Now, 
sir,  go  on,  if  you  please,  sir."  I  then  picked  out  two 
passages  which  he  copied  verbatim,  introduced  with 
phrases  of  "  poetical,"  "  graphic,"  and  the  like,  and 
one  of  them  he  prefaced  by  saying,  "as  nearly  as  we 
could  catch  his  words,"  and  then  copied  from  my 
manuscript. 

As  he  was  counting  over  his  pages  I  observed  that 
the  first  was  numbered  two.  I  told  him  he  had  made 
a  mistake.  "  No,  sir,"  said  he,  "  I  'm  right.  The 
first  page  has  been  set  up."  He  felt  in  his  pockets 
and  produced  a  crumpled  sheet,  saying,  "Here  it  is, 
sir.  I  thought  I  would  read  it  to  you,"  and  on  he 
went  through  a  paragraph  stating  that  last  evening, 
—  Mr.  Dana,  etc.,  —  large  audience, — elite  of  the 
city,  — marked  approbation,  —  frequent  applause,  — 
glowing  with  patriotism,  —  gems  of  poetical  effect, 


1846-47.  HORACE  MANN.  117 

etc.  "  I  have  said  'notwithstanding  the  bad  walking,' 
for  I  don't  think  it  will  rain  "  —  here  he  looked  out 
of  the  window  —  M  but  it  is  safe  to  say  the  walking 
was  bad." 

I  asked  what  he  would  do  if  that  was  not  true. 
Perhaps  the  audience  would  be  thin,  or  I  might  fail, 
or  get  no  applause.  "  Oh,  never  fear  ;  it  will  be  all 
right.  We'll  take  care  of  that,  sir;  that 's  our  look- 
out." 

Here  he  jumped  up,  thanked  me  for  my  kindness, 
and  hurried  off. 

In  about  an  hour  more  he  appeared  again,  blowing 
as  before,  he  apologized,  and  said  he  had  left  his 
overshoes  and  umbrella.  Before  he  went  he  pulled 
out  another  sheet  from  his  pocket,  and  said,  "  We've 
put  a  tail  upon  you,  sir.  We  thought  we  would  give 
it  a  fine  ending,"  and  he  read  off  a  concluding  puff  in 
which  he  apologized  for  reporting  so  little  of  a  lecture 
so  well  deserving,"  etc.  He  took  his  leave,  saying, 
"  This  will  all  be  in  type,  sir,  before  eight  o'clock." 

In  one  place,  while  I  was  reading  to  him,  I  used  the 
phrase  "  sovereignty  of  law."  He  muttered,  u  Law, 
law,  we  've  had  that  once.  Suppose  we  say  people," 
and  down  went  "  sovereignty  of  the  people  "  instead. 

I  must  do  the  man  the  justice  to  say  that  he  was  at 
the  lecture,  and  that  there  was  some  change  made  in 
his  article,  introducing  a  little  more  of  the  lecture, 
but  the  puffs  seemed  to  be  unaltered. 

1847.  August.  I  had  in  July  the  most  extraor- 
dinary conversation  with  Horace  Mann,  of  the  Board 
of  Education,  that  an  author,  I  suspect,  ever  had  with 
a  critic.  He  wrote  me  last  spring  a  curious  letter 
intimating  that  the  Board  of  Education  wished  to 
publish  my  book  "  Two  Years  "  in  their  series,  and 


118  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  32. 

the  object  of  the  letter  was  substantially  to  inform 
me  that  they  would  do  so  if  I  would  make  the  book 
worthy  of  this  honor,  by  amending  it,  giving  more 
information,  making  it  more  useful,  etc.  I  replied, 
telling  hiin  that  I  had  no  rights  in  the  book,  as  the 
manuscript  was  sold  to  the  Harpers,  and  added,  which 
was  intended  as  ironical,  that  otherwise  I  ought  to  be 
obliged  to  them,  etc.,  for  an  opportunity  to  make 
emendations  under  their  advice. 

A  few  weeks  after  this  Mr.  Mann  entered  the  office. 
I  had  always  feared  I  had  hurt  his  feelings,  and  I 
fully  expected  either  an  apology  or  complaint.  Judge 
of  my  surprise  to  find  that  he  had  taken  me  literally. 
He  was  glad  that  I  had  been  so  ready  to  take  the 
suggestions  of  the  Board.  I  asked  him,  of  curiosity, 
what  improvements  they  would  suggest.  He  gravely 
proceeded  to  state  the  defects  of  the  work,  and  the 
improvements  he  and  others  of  the  Board  would  sug- 
gest. He  thought  the  book  fell  off  in  interest  at  the 
close,  that  the  concluding  chapter  was  wanting  in  the 
true,  humane  and  philanthropic  spirit  (as  an  excuse 
for  which  he  kindly  intimated  that  it  was  probably 
hastily  written),  and  that  the  book  should  contain 
more  valuable  information,  which  would  be  useful  to 
young  persons,  statistical  information  and  facts  as  to 
the  countries  I  visited,  their  resources,  productions 
and  the  habits  of  the  people. 

I  entered  into  a  defence  of  the  book,  and  led  him 
on,  to  see  what  his  notions  were.  He  finally  gave  me 
to  understand  that  the  interest  and  value  of  a  book 
consisted  in  its  moral  teachings  and  the  information 
it  conveyed  as  to  matters  of  fact.  A  narrative,  a 
description,  had  no  value  except  as  it  conveyed  some 
moral  lesson  or  some  useful  fact.     The  narrative  was 


1847.  HORACE  MANN.  119 

a  mere  vehicle  for  conveying  knowledge.  He  thought 
my  narrative  interested  persons,  and  therefore  should 
be  made  use  of  for  valuable  purposes,  as  a  gilding  to 
a  pill,  as  a  mode  of  getting  the  attention  of  readers, 
especially  the  young,  to  various  information,  statisti- 
cal, etc.,  which  I  might  interweave  with  it. 

I  suggested  the  idea  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as 
unity  in  a  book.  That  mine  was  simply  a  descriptive 
narrative,  and  that  to  make  it  statistic  and  didactic 
would  destroy  its  character,  almost  as  much  as  it 
would  that  of  a  drama.  I  said  it  had  life,  and  that 
the  course  he  proposed  would  stop  the  circulation  of 
the  blood.  But  this  was  "  all  leather  and  prunella  " 
to  him.  He  had  but  one  idea  in  his  head,  and  that 
was  the  idea  of  a  school-master  gone  crazy,  that  direct 
instruction  on  matters  of  fact  was  the  only  worthy 
object  of  all  books. 

I  told  him  my  mind  pretty  freely,  but  he  was  so 
intrenched  behind  his  one  idea  that  I  could  not  re- 
call him.  He  thought  that  if  "  Robinson  Crusoe  "  and 
my  book  and  other  narratives  and  stories  which  are 
popular  could  only  be  pressed  into  the  service  of  edu- 
cation, and  made  to  carry  off  the  burdens  of  knowl- 
edge for  the  poor  boys  and  girls,  it  would  be  a  great 
work  for  humanity. 

He  was  most  felicitous  in  his  remarks  throughout. 
In  fact,  I  never  saw  such  an  exhibition  of  gaucheness 
and  want  of  tact  in  my  life.  He  told  me  that  the 
Board  consisted  of  a  number  of  gentlemen,  but  that 
only  two  of  them  had  read  my  book.  He  said  it  had 
no  doubt  circulated  on  the  seaboard,  but  that  if  the 
Education  Society  published  it,  they  would  give  it  a 
circulation  throughout  the  State.  Speaking  of  com- 
pensation, he  thought  that  should  be  small,  as  it  ought 


120  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt  32. 

to  be  enough  for  me  to  get  the  approbation,  the  in- 
dorsement, of  the  Board  upon  my  book,  to  give  it  ad- 
ditional character  and  weight,  which  indorsement 
they  would  probably  be  willing  to  give,  after  my 
emendations.  As  a  further  instance  of  tact,  he  s;tid 
they  had  a  small  series  for  children,  and  a  larger 
series  of  works  of  a  more  standard  character,  and 
added  that,  of  course,  mine  would  go  into  the  smaller 
series.  In  short,  there  is  no  end  to  the  stupid,  gauche, 
narrow  things  this  man  continued  to  say.  If  some 
enemy  had  employed  him  to  come  and  try  my  pa- 
tience to  the  utmost,  he  could  not  have  executed  his 
task  better.  I  got  reckless  at  last,  and  advanced  the 
most  extraordinary  and  barbarous  sentiments  on  the 
subject  of  education,  to  see  if  I  could  move  him  off 
his  centre  of  gravity,  but  to  no  purpose. 

He  said  he  thought  I  ought,  for  my  own  interest, 
to  do  something  of  this  kind,  for  the  Harpers  told 
him  that  they  had  not  made  much  out  of  it,  and  that 
the  sale  was  nearly  over.  I  told  him  that  I  knew 
better,  and  gave  him  some  account  of  their  dealings 
with  me  and  with  others.  He  hoped  this  was  not  so, 
but  thought  they  must  be  right  as  to  the  sale  of  my 
book,  that  it  would  be  aided  by  the  imprimatur  of  the 
Board. 

I  told  him  I  would  not  touch  the  narrative,  nor  in- 
terlard it  with  anything  didactic  or  statistic.  There 
were  some  verbal  changes  I  would  like  to  make, 
which  affected  the  accuracy  of  the  style,  and  I  would 
consider  the  question  as  to  my  chapter  on  the  history, 
geography,  customs,  laws,  etc.,  of  California.  I  would 
not  much  enlarge  it,  but  would  reexamine  it,  and  if 
I  had  any  changes  to  make  would  let  him  know. 
But  vetoed,  positively,  his  idea  of  altering  the  sub- 
stance of  the  book,  of  course. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

POLITICS  —  THE  FREE   SOIL  MOVEMENT  OF   1848 
AND  THE   BUFFALO  CONVENTION. 

In  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  to  his  wife,  Dana 
spoke  of  the  obsequies  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  whose  death 
at  Washington  had  occurred  on  the  23d  of  the  preceding 
month :  — 

1848.  March  12.  The  demonstrations  on  the 
death  of  Adams  show  that  republics  are  not  ungrate- 
ful ;  certainly  not  more  so  than  kings.  But  he  fell 
upon  good  times.  In  Athens  he  would  have  been 
ostracized  a  dozen  times ;  in  Rome  he  would  have 
taken  poison  in  despair  of  the  republic  ;  in  France 
he  would  have  been  guillotined ;  in  Henry  the 
Eighth's  time  he  would  have  been  beheaded  at  the 
block. 

Faneuil  Hall  was  a  solemn  sight,  —  shrouded  in 
black,  windows  darkened,  and  lighted  by  gas, 
guarded  by  soldiers,  with  sentinels  erect  at  the  head 
and  foot  of  the  coffin,  like  statues,  night  and  day. 
He  began  his  political  career  under  my  grandfather, 
and  always  professed  to  hold  his  character  in  rever- 
ence. I  am  curious  to  know  what  he  will  say  of 
him.  They  were  not  alike.  My  grandfather  had 
more  pride  than  ambition  ;  Adams,  more  ambition 
than  pride  There  was  some  political  difference  be- 
tween my  grandfather  and  his  father,  the  President, 
and  those  Adamses  are  Highlanders  in  their  feuds. 


122  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  32. 

The  next  important  entry  in  the  journal  is  brief,  but 
very  significant.  As  he  penned  it,  Dana  little  thought  how- 
significant  it  was.  In  truth,  he  had  unknowingly  come  to 
where  the  road  before  him  in  life  forked  ;  and,  though  ap- 
parently he  did  not  then  stop  to  read  it,  the  finger-post 
pointed  to  different  destinations. 

July  27.  Make  my  debut  in  political  life  as  chair- 
man of  the  Free  Soil  meeting  at  the  Tremont  Temple. 
Full  attendance  and  well  received. 

Dana  was  now  just  completing  his  thirty-second  year.  He 
had  hitherto  strictly  devoted  himself  to  his  profession,  in 
which  he  had  already  acquired  an  excellent  standing.  He 
was  recognized- as  one  of  the  most  promising  of  the  younger 
members  of  the  Suffolk  bar.  In  politics  he  was  by  heredity  a 
Federalist,  and  by  instinct  a  conservative.  So  far  as  the  polit- 
ical parties  of  the  day  went,  he  was  a  Whig,  and  a  Webster 
Whig.  Indeed,  for  Mr.  Webster  he  up  to  this  time  had 
felt  and  expressed  the  most  profound  admiration,  looking 
upon  him  as  little  less  than  an  intellectual  prodigy.  But 
Dana,  though  he  grew  up  a  Whig,  was  born  a  Federalist,  and 
for  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  and  the  public  men  of  the  Otis 
school,  he  had  a  marked  kindness  of  feeling.  This  colored 
his  judgments,  and  more  than  once  found  expression  in  his 
diary  in  entries  like  the  following,  the  first  of  which  was 
made  immediately  after  some  argument  in  court :  — 

Among  my  hearers  was  Harrison  Gray  Otis. 
After  I  was  through  I  put  some  questions  to  him  re- 
specting the  accuracy  of  some  statements  in  Brad- 
ford's "  New  England  Biography."  This  started  him 
off  upon  old  times.  He  spoke  of  Samuel  Dexter, 
and  said,  u  You  know  that  he  bolted  soon  after  the 
war.  He  did  n't  quite  come  up  to  the  Frank  Dana 
school."  Mr.  Otis  never  spoke  a  sentence  without 
contriving  to  work  in  something  complimentary  or 


1848.  POLITICS.        <  123 

gratifying  to  the  feelings   of  the  person  conversing 
with  him. 

Some  years  later  there  is  an  entry  in  the  diary  describing 
an  interview  of  a  very  different  sort  with  another  public 
character,  also  prominent  in  latter-day  Federal  politics, 
but  on  the  opposite  side  to  Otis.  In  1844  Dana  had  occa- 
sion to  visit  Washington,  and  under  date  of  Saturday, 
March  2,  he  wrote  as  follows  :  — 

Called  upon  President  Adams.  He  was  very  dull 
and  abstracted,  and  although  he  had  told  me  he 
wished  to  see  me  and  to  talk  with  me,  yet  he  had 
nothing  to  say.  After  a  dull  half  hour  I  rose  to 
leave.  He  invited  me  to  tea,  but  I  declined.  As  I 
left  the  room,  he  took  my  hand,  and  said,  "  I  retain 
a  sense  of  the  greatest  respect  and  affection  for  the 
memory  of  your  grandfather.  He  was  my  friend  and 
patron  when  I  was  setting  out  in  life,  and  the  friend 
of  my  father."  He  seemed  to  feel  something  when  he 
said  this,  but,  upon  the  whole,  his  manner  was  such 
as  would  be  sure  to  drive  away  all  young  persons. 
Of  Mr.  Adams  he  again  said  twenty-one  years  later  in  his 
Address  on  the  character  of  Edward  Everett :  — 

Without  undertaking  to  analyze  and  classify  those 
qualities  of  Mr.  Everett,  physical  and  moral,  which 
go  to  make  up  what  we  call,  for  convenience,  the 
temperament,  one  cannot  but  be  struck  by  the  con- 
trast between  him  and  another  statesman  of  Massa- 
chusetts, his  near  neighbor  in  birth  and  residence,  — 
John  Quincy  Adams,  —  of  whom  Mr.  Choate  once 
playfully  said,  in  the  privacy  of  his  study,  what  has 
passed  into  public  biography,  —  "  What  an  antago- 
nist he  was!  An  instinct  for  the  jugular  and  carotid 
artery  equal  to  that  of  any  of  the  carnivorous  ani- 


124  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  32. 

mals;"  and  whom  Mr.  Everett  described  as  one 
whose  natural  place  would  have  been  at  the  weather 
yard-arm  in  a  tempest,  or  leading  the  forlorn  hope 
through  the  deadly,  imminent  breach. 

A  Federalist,  a  conservative,  and  a  Webster  Whig,  —  all 
his  social  connections  being  with  the  representatives  of  the 
Massachusetts  cotton  manufacturing  interests,  there  was 
also  something  peculiarly  repulsive  to  Dana  in  the  radicalism 
and  extravagance  of  the  anti-slavery  agitators.  It  has  been 
seen  how  their  attacks  on  law  and  religion  shocked  and  an- 
gered him ;  while  their  disregard  of  the  ordinary  conven- 
tionalities of  life  annoyed  and  offended  him.  All  their 
methods  of  discussion  as  well  as  their  personal  peculiarities 
tended  to  drive  him  to  the  side  of  those  they  attacked. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  political  course  Dana  now 
took  was  in  the  highest  degree  creditable  to  him.  He  ad- 
hered to  the  right.  He  adhered  to  it  on  principle,  regard- 
less of  self-interest,  of  his  own  dislike  to  its  exponents,  of 
personal  and  professional  odium,  and  of  social  ostracism. 

A  few  years  later  Dana  had  occasion  to  set  forth  the 
grounds  upon  which  he  now  identified  himself  with  the 
Free  Soil  movement,  and  he  did  it  better  and  more  clearly 
than  another  could  now  do  it  for  him.  After  the  sessions 
of  the  Massachusetts  Constitutional  Convention  of  1853, 
Daniel  Lord  of  New  York  wrote  to  Dana  commending  his 
course  as  a  member  of  the  Convention,  but  at  the  same  time 
expressing  his  surprise  that  one  so  conservative  could  be  a 
Free  Soiler.  Dana's  answer  to  this  letter  was  dated  Janu- 
ary 26,  1854,  and  part  of  it  is  as  follows  :  — 

1.  I  am  a  Free  Soiler  by  inheritance.  I  am  the 
son  and  grandson  of  Federalists.  The  northern 
Federalists  were  decided  Free  Soilers.  The  exclu- 
sion of  slavery  from  the  Northwest  territory  is 
owing  to  them.     In  New  England,  they  opposed  the 


1848.      .  POLITICS.  125 

Missouri  compromise  to  the  last.  The  yielding  to 
the  South  on  that  point  in  1820,  the  parent  of  so 
much  evil,  was  by  the  Democrats.  Harrison  Gray 
Otis,  in  his  celebrated  letter  in  1848,  said  that  the 
Federal  party  was  the  original  Free  Soil  party,  and 
ridiculed  the  Buffalo  platform  as  mere  supererogation. 
The  Federalists  had  a  deep  hostility  to  any  increase 
of  slavery,  or  of  the  power  of  the  slave-holding  aris- 
tocracy in  our  government. 

2.  1  am  a  Free  Soiler  by  education.  I  was  edu- 
cated a  Whig.  The  Whig  party  of  New  England 
has  been  a  decided  Anti-slavery  and  Free  Soil  party 
up  to  and  through  the  contest  of  1848.  I  will  agree 
to  adopt  no  positions  on  the  slave  question,  or  any 
great  matter,  for  which  I  cannot  vouch  the  unani- 
mous or  all  but  unanimous  resolves  of  the  Whig 
legislatures  and  conventions  of  Massachusetts.  You 
know  that  Mr.  Webster  was  a  Free  Soiler  to  March, 
1850,  and  approved  of  the  whole  Buffalo  platform, 
thinking  it  only  needless,  and  claiming  the  Wilmot 
Proviso  (the  test  of  Free  Soilers)  as  his  thunder. 

3.  My  conservatism  leads  me  to  it.  There  is  a 
compound  of  selfishness  and  cowardice  which  often 
takes  to  itself  the  honored  name  of  Conservatism. 
That  false  conservatism  I  call  Hunherism.  Now, 
hunkerism  of  all  names  and  sections,  Whig  or  Demo- 
cratic, making  material  prosperity  and  ease  its  pole 
star,  will  do  nothing  and  risk  nothing  for  a  moral 
principle.  But  not  so  Conservatism.  Conservatism 
sometimes  requires  a  risking  or  sacrificing  of  material 
advantages.  Radicalism,  also,  will  do  nothing  to  re- 
sist the  growth  of  slavery,  because  that  is  purely  an 
act  of  justice  to  others.  It  is  not  our  freedom  that  is 
at  stake.     If  it  were,  the  Tammany  Hall  mob  would 


126  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEn.  32. 

be  on  our  side  and  beyond  us.  But  in  a  case  for 
liberal,  comprehensive  justice  to  others,  with  only  a 
remote  and  chiefly  moral  advantage  to  ourselves,  to 
be  done  at  the  peril  of  our  immediate  personal  advan- 
tages, conservatism  is  more  reliable  than  radicalism. 

4.  I  am  a  Free  Soiler,  because  I  am  (who  should 
not  say  so)  of  the  stock  of  the  old  northern  gentry, 
and  have  a  particular  dislike  to  any  subserviency  or 
even  appearance  of  subserviency  on  the  part  of  our 
people  to  the  slave-holding  oligarchy.  I  was  dis- 
gusted with  it  in  college,  at  the  Law  School,  and  have 
been  since  in  society  and  politics.  The  spindles  and 
day-books  are  against  us  just  now,  for  Free  Soilism 
goes  to  the  wrong  side  of  the  ledger.  The  blood,  the 
letters,  and  the  plough  are  our  chief  reliance. 

Having  said  so  much,  I  will  add  that  I  take  you 
literally.  You  mean  u  Free  Soiler"  and  nothing 
else.  A  technical  Abolitionist  I  am  not.  I  am  a 
constitutionalist,  and  in  favor  of  adhering  honestly 
to  all  the  compromises  of  that  instrument.  If  I  were 
in  Congress,  and  the  South  should  come  into  court 
with  clean  hands,  keeping  faithfully  her  side  of  the 
compact,  and  demand  of  us  a  fugitive  slave  law,  I 
should  feel  bound  to  give  her  one  (either  by  na- 
tional or  state  legislation),  and  a  bona  fide  one,  but 
one  consistent  with  law,  decency,  safety  to  the  free, 
and  the  self-respect  of  the  North. 

I  have  inflicted  upon  you  a  pretty  heavy  penalty 
for  a  word,  and  without  a  jury,  too.  But  permit  me 
to  say  that  I  have  written  so  at  length  because  there- 
is  a  good  deal  of  misunderstanding  as  to  the  position 
of  Massachusetts  Free  Soilers,  because  I  know  you 
are  capable  and  desirous  of  doing  justice  to  those 
from  whom  you  differ,  and  because  I  value  highly 
your  favorable  opinion. 


1848.  POLITICS.  127 

To  be  an  avowed  Free  Soiler  in  Boston  between  the 
years  1848  and  1856  implied  a  good  deal.  The  social, 
financial,  and  political  conditions  then  existing  are  now  al- 
most forgotten,  and  in  few  years  more  he  who  speaks  the 
truth  about  them  will  be  denounced  as  a  maligner.  So- 
ciety, as  it  is  called,  —  that  is,  the  wealth,  culture  and  pro- 
fessional and  business  activities  of  Boston,  —  in  short,  the 
large  majority  of  those  "  best  people  "  towards  whom  Dana 
felt  an  instinctive  affinity,  were  Whigs,  and  devoted  per- 
sonal as  well  as  political  adherents  of  Mr.  Webster.  A  cerr- 
tain  thin,  colorless  anti-slavery  sentiment  had  always  been 
current  and  fashionable  among  them,  a  sentiment  handed 
down  from  the  early  days  of  the  republic,  and  more  recently 
reflected  from  England  ;  but  it  was  a  mere  sentiment,  hav- 
ing no  hold  either  in  conviction  or  in  material  interest.  On 
the  contrary,  so  far  as  material  interests  were  concerned, 
a  great  change  had  recently  taken  place.  The  manufactur- 
ing development  of  Massachusetts  had  been  rapid,  and  a 
close  affiliation  had  sprung  up  between  the  cotton  spinners 
of  the  North  and  the  cotton  producers  of  the  South,  —  or, 
as  Charles  Sumner  put  it,  between  "  the  lords  of  the  loom 
and  the  lords  of  the  lash."  So  long  as  Mr.  Webster  ad- 
hered to  the  anti-slavery  utterances  of  his  earlier  days,  — 
so  long  as  he  saw  fit  to  claim  the  Wilmot  Proviso  as  his 
thunder,  and  to  keep  terms  with  the  Liberty  party,  —  the 
reactionary  under-current  was  scarcely  perceptible ;  but 
when  he  changed  front  openly,  —  putting  in  his  bid  for 
Southern  support,  —  there  was  no  longer  any  concealment. 
Under  the  guise  of  loyalty  to  the  Union  and  the  Constitution, 
social  and  business  Boston  by  degrees  became  in  its  heart, 
and  almost  avowedly,  a  pro-slavery  community ;  and  it  so 
remained  until  1861.  After  the  war  of  the  rebellion  fairly 
broke  out,  a  stronger  feeling,  that  of  patriotism,  dominated 
over  sympathy  with  the  South ;  but  even  when  there  was 
hardly  a  family  in  the  city  which  did  not  count  father, 
brother,  son  or  husband  in  the  field,  talk  as  treasonable  as 


128  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  32. 

it  was  idle  was  daily  and  hourly  heard  in  the  fashionable 
club-house  of  Beacon  Street.  True,  it  was  then  mere  chatter 
in  the  mouths  of  human  parrots ;  but  it  echoed  loudly  and 
constantly  what  a  few  years  before  had  been  the  political 
creed  of  the  acknowledged  leaders  of  the  town. 

Between  1848  and  1856  feeling  also  ran  high  ;  and  in 
Boston  it  ran  all  one  way.  Women  became  politicians. 
Weak  attempts  were  made  at  social  ostracism  ;  attempts 
ludicrous  now  to  look  back  upon,  but  at  the  time  exasper- 
ating to  those  against  whom  they  were  insolently  directed. 
An  abolitionist  was  looked  upon  as  a  sort  of  common  enemy 
of  mankind ;  a  Free  Soiler  was  only  a  weak  and  illogical 
abolitionist.  The  bold  and  pointed  criticisms  made  on  Mr. 
Webster  were  resented  as  outrages  on  decency.  The  few 
representatives  of  the  unfashionable  side  —  and  in  number 
they  were  a  mere  handful  —  who  had  a  recognized  stand- 
ing in  the  drawing-rooms  of  Summer,  Park  and  Beacon 
streets  were  made  to  feel  in  many  ways  the  contempt  there 
felt  for  the  cause  they  had  espoused.  Sumner  and  Dana, 
for  instance,  had  long  been  frequent  and  favored  guests  in 
the  house  of  Mr.  Ticknor.  After  they  became  pronounced 
Free  Soilers  they  soon  ceased  to  be  seen  there ;  and,  indeed, 
things  went  so  far  that  all  social  relations  between  them 
and  the  family  of  their  former  host  were  broken  off.  So  it 
was  generally.  Slowly  but  surely  the  country  was  working 
itself  up  to  the  war  point ;  and  the  conservative  and  reac- 
tionary interests,  instinctively  realizing  the  fact,  demeaned 
themselves  according  to  their  wont. 

Dana  was  not  a  man  to  regard  considerations  of  this  sort, 
or  to  pause  in  his  course  for  one  instant  from  fear  of  social 
or  professional  slights.  He  did  not  feel  called  upon  to  as- 
sert himself  socially,  for  the  reason  that  no  doubt  as  to  his 
social  position  ever  entered  his  mind  ;  he  held  himself  and 
his  family  high.  Neither  did  he  now  care  for  social  life. 
Immersed  in  his  profession,  with  a  house  full  of  young  chil- 
dren, he  had  neither  time  nor  inclination  for  evening  enter- 


1848.  POLITICS.  129 

tainments.  Never  a  party  goer,  he  rarely  dined  out,  and 
only  occasionally  went  to  receptions.  So  far  as  what  is 
known  as  society  was  concerned,  therefore,  the  unpopularity 
of  the  cause  he  advocated  affected  him  far  less  than  it  did 
Sumner,  upon  whom  many  and  pointed  slights  were  put, 
which  he  felt  keenly,  and  rarely  forgot  or  forgave.  From 
the  professional  point  of  view  this  open  and  conscientious 
adhesion  to  the  unpopular  side  affected  Dana  much  more. 
He  was,  as  will  presently  be  seen,  openly  taunted  with  strik- 
ing the  hand  that  fed  him  ;  and  he  was  not  the  man  to  bear 
such  a  taunt  in  silence.  Moreover,  nearly  all  the  wealth 
and  the  moneyed  institutions  of  Boston  were  controlled  by 
the  conservatives ;  and  among  the  moneyed  institutions 
were  the  marine  insurance  companies.  The  ship-owners 
and  merchants  were  Whigs  almost  to  a  man.  It  is,  there- 
fore, safely  within  the  mark  to  say  that  Dana's  political 
course  between  1848  and  1860  not  only  retarded  his  profes- 
sional advancement,  but  seriously  impaired  his  income.  It 
kept  the  rich  clients  from  his  office.  He  was  the  counsel  of 
the  sailor  and  the  slave,  —  persistent,  courageous,  hard-fight- 
ing, skilful,  but  still  the  advocate  of  the  poor  and  the  un- 
popular. In  the  mind  of  wealthy  and  respectable  Boston 
almost  any  one  was  to  be  preferred  to  him,  —  the  Free 
Soil  lawyer,  the  counsel  for  the  fugitive  slave,  alert,  indomi- 
table, always  on  hand.  It  is  impossible  to  say  how  many 
clients  were  prevented  from  going  to  Dana  during  his  years 
of  active  practice  by  considerations  of  this  sort ;  but  the 
number  was  unquestionably  large,  and  the  interests  they  rep- 
resented larger  still.  Indeed,  brilliant  as  was  his  career 
at  the  bar,  he  never  had  what  would  be  considered  a  lucra- 
tive practice  ;  and  that  he  did  not  have  such  a  practice 
was  due  to  prejudice  connected  with  his  early  political  as- 
sociations. He  too  suffered  for  his  advocacy  of  the  poor 
and  the  oppressed. 

Judged  by  worldly  results  to  himself,  the  step  Dana  now 
took  was  probably  a  mistake.     He  went  out  of  the  line  of 


130  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  32. 

his  profession  and  mixed  in  politics.  He  in  so  far  dissi- 
pated his  force.  In  doing  this  he  did  only  what  many  had 
done  before,  and  many  others  have  done  since.  Among 
Massachusetts  men  and  Boston  lawyers  John  Adams, 
Fisher  Ames  and  Daniel  Webster  were  cases  in  point. 
That  in  certain  ways  Dana  had  a  strong  natural  call  to  pub- 
lic life  is  undeniable ;  he  showed  this  while  a  member  of  the 
Convention  of  1853,  and  after  that  he  always  looked  forward 
to  a  political  career,  which  was  some  day  to  open  before 
him.  In  one  of  the  many  familiar  talks  which  as  a  student 
in  his  office  I  had  with  him  a  few  years  later,  I  remember 
his  speaking  of  himself  in  this  respect  with  the  utmost  free- 
dom. He  then  said  that  he  thought  the  Senate  chamber, 
—  a  political  body,  as  he  expressed  it,  of  some  fifty  or  sixty 
members,  —  would  be  the  field  in  which  his  powers  would 
find  their  most  perfect  play,  and  that  in  which  he  could 
accomplish  the  best  results  of  which  he  was  capable  ;  and 
long  afterwards  I  heard  James  Russell  Lowell,  who  knew 
him  well,  express  a  precisely  similar  opinion.  Until  late  in 
life  l  he  confidently  believed  that  to  become  a  member  of 
such  a  body  was  a  thing  in  store  for  him  before  he  died. 

Yet  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether  in  this  country,  at 
least  since  the  year  1848,  a  successful  political  career  would 
have  been  possible  for  a  man  of  Dana's  temperament  and 
peculiar  way  of  looking  at  things.  He  was  born  fastidious, 
and  at  bottom  always  remained  so,  —  his  personality  was 
pronounced,  causing  in  him  a  tendency  to  idiosyncracies 
very  incompatible  with  a  continued  political  life  in  Amer- 
ica. He  was  punctilious  about  religion,  observances  and 
rites,  about  points  of  honor,  about  family  and  social  posi- 
tion, about  the  past,  about  precedents.  He  would  look  at 
things  in  a  large  way,  present  them  with  incomparable 
clearness  and  move  towards  his  end  with  directness  and 
strength ;  then  suddenly  some  needless  side  issue  was  apt  to 
present  itself  and  assume  undue  importance,  —  an  issue, 
perhaps,  which  he  had  himself  created.     He  thus  constantly 


1848.  POLITICS.  131 

offered  to  his  opponents  points  of  attack,  and  they  were 
points  of  attack  upon  which  the  popular  sympathy  was  al- 
most sure  to  be  against  him.  No  man  of  Dana's  peculiar 
type  has  ever  yet  been  a  success  in  American  politics. 

But  if,  like  John  Adams,  —  who  of  all  the  New  England 
public  characters  he  most  resembled,  —  Dana  was  to  achieve 
success  in  public  life,  he  could  achieve  it  only  by  pursuing 
the  course  which  John  Adams  pursued,  —  that  is,  by  throw- 
ing himself,  body  and  soul,  into  a  rising  popular  cause  and 
al  solutely  identifying  himself  with  it.  Had  he  done  this, 
the  chances  would  have  been  against  him,  but  still  not  im- 
possibly he  might  have  played  a  large  part  in  the  movement 
of  which  he  could  hardly  have  failed  to  be  a  mouthpiece. 
It  is  not  probable  he  ever  formed  for  himself  any  well-de- 
fined plan  of  political  career,  but  rather  always  looked  for- 
ward to  it  as  a  somewhat  vague  possibility ;  nevertheless  had 
he,  instead  of  thus  drifting  to  his  end,  really  matured  some 
such  plan,  the  instinct  which  caused  him  in  1848  to  break 
ground  politically  by  consenting  to  attend  the  Buffalo  conven- 
tion of  that  year  as  a  delegate  would  have  guided  him  well. 

The  Buffalo  convention  was  one  of  the  more  important 
upheavals  in  the  process  of  political  disintegration  which 
went  steadily  on  between  the  years  1844,  when  the  "  Bir- 
neyites  "  deprived  Henry  Clay  of  the  electoral  vote  of  New 
York,  and  1856,  when  the  Whig  party  disappeared,  and  the 
pro-slavery  Democracy  found  itself  confronted  by  the  anti- 
slavery  Republican  organization  of  the  North.  In  1848, 
though  the  Whig  party  was  already  doomed,  its  time  had 
not  yet  come.  The  Free  Soil  movement  of  1848  was, 
therefore,  premature ;  and  moreover,  as  the  result  after- 
wards showed,  there  was  something  almost  ludicrous  in  a 
combination  of  "  Conscience  Whigs  "  of  Massachusetts,  in 
revolt  over  the  nomination  of  the  slave-owning  General 
Taylor,  with  the  "  Barnburning  "  Democrats  of  New  York, 
intent  only  upon  avenging  on  Cass  the  defeat  of  Van  Buren. 
None  the  less   the    Free   Soil  movement  of   1848  clearly 


132  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  32. 

foreshadowed  the  Republican  uprising  of  1856,  and  of  the 
men  who  took  part  in  the  Buffalo  convention  an  unusually 
large  proportion  afterwards  became  prominent  as  political 
leaders. 

Dana  was  not  destined  to  be  one  of  these.  To  have  made 
himself  one  of  them  it  would  have  been  necessary  to  sub- 
ordinate law  to  politics.  He  might  for  twelve  years  yet  to 
come  have  followed  his  profession,  but  the  law  is  proverbi- 
ally a  jealous  mistress,  and  the  political  movement  must 
have  absorbed  his  thoughts  and  attention  to  such  an  extent 
that  his  heart  would  not  have  been  in  his  work.  John 
Adams  went  through  almost  exactly  the  same  experience. 
In  1848  Dana  was  a  young  lawyer  steadily  growing  in  his 
profession,  with  a  family  wholly  dependent  upon  him;  so 
was  John  Adams  in  1765.  Dana  in  the  fugitive  slave  trials 
drew  to  himself  great  notice,  identifying  his  name  in  the 
public  mind  with  the  popular  side  of  a  great  political  cause ; 
John  Adams  did  something  of  the  same  sort,  but  on  the  un- 
popular side,  in  his  defence  of  the  British  soldiers  concerned 
in  the  Boston  "  massacre."  Here  the  parallel  ends.  When 
the  revolutionary  troubles  broke  out  in  1775,  John  Adams 
abandoned  his  profession  forever,  and  identified  himself 
absolutely  with  the  cause  of  national  independence.  Had 
Dana  as  the  result  either  of  chance  or  calculation  pursued  a 
similar  course  when  the  rebellion  broke  out  in  1861,  his 
political  ambition  might  have  been  gratified.  Perhaps  no 
opening  offered  itself ;  but  if  it  did  offer  itself,  he  failed  to 
grasp  it.  Certainly  at  a  later  time  he  looked  for  it  in  vain. 
The  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men  had  flooded ;  and  for  him  it 
did  not  flood  again. 

Dana  owed  his  connection  with  the  fugitive  slave  cases  of 
1853-54  to  his  political  affiliations ;  and  his  connection  with 
those  cases  was  the  one  great  professional  and  political  act 
of  his  life.  It  was  simply  superb.  There  is  nothing  fairer 
or  nobler  in  the  long,  rich  archives  of  the  law ;  and  the 
man  who  holds  that  record  in  his  hand  may  stand  with 


1848.  POLITICS.  133 

head  erect  at  the  bar  of  final  judgment  itself.  This  episode 
apart,  —  and  it  was  purely  an  episode  —  it  would  in  the  final 
result  have  been  better  for  Dana  had  he  sternly  set  his  face 
against  all  things  political  and,  confining  himself  to  the  law, 
kept  his  eyes  steadily  fixed  on  its  prizes.  He  never  would 
have  been  a  money-making  lawyer  ;  and  indeed  for  money 
making  in  any  way  he  had  in  his  younger  days  a  somewhat 
callow,  even  though  chivalrous,  contempt,  and,  in  later  life, 
small  aptitude.  No  one  who  knew  him  would  ever  have 
sought  him  out  as  an  adviser  because  of  his  skill  or  judgment 
in  dealing  with  intricate  business  affairs.  He  was  above  all 
else  a  barrister,  —  a  lawyer  of  the  forum  ;  and  he  had  small 
business  capacity.  He  would  fight  a  case  for  all  there  was 
in  it  before  a  jury  or  the  bench  ;  he  had  a  fair  knowledge 
of  the  books  and  a  strong  grasp  on  legal  principles  ;  he  was 
absolutely  fearless,  never  hesitating  to  measure  himself 
against  any  one ;  he  did  not  know  when  he  was  beaten. 
His  proper  place,  therefore,  was  at  the  bar.  Up  to  1 848 
he  was  on  exactly  the  right  path,  —  the  path  to  distinctive 
professional  eminence.  Had  he  adhered  to  it,  he  not  im- 
probably would  at  last  have  attained,  had  he  so  desired,  that 
foremost  place  in  the  judiciary  of  Massachusetts,  once  held 
by  his  grandfather.  Most  assuredly  he  would  have  risen  to 
the  front  rank  of  his  profession  as  a  jurist  of  national  fame. 
Had  he  remained  steadfast  to  his  calling,  all  this  well 
might  have  been ;  but  with  a  pronounced  taste  for  political 
life,  Dana  unfortunately  had  no  political  faculty.  The 
influence  his  rough  experience  before  the  mast  exerted 
upon  him  has  already  been  referred  to.  To  a  certain  ex- 
tent it  qualified  him  to  deal  practically  with  men.  But, 
however  potent  for  good  or  evil  such  an  influence  may  be, 
it  can  only  modify ;  it  cannot  develop  in  a  man  that  which 
is  not  in  him  to  be  developed.  Under  certain  circumstances 
Dana  might  have  been  an  eminent  statesman  ;  but  under 
no  circumstances  could  he  ever  have  been  a  successful 
politician. 


134  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  32. 

When,  therefore,  he  made  his  u  debut  in  political  life  "  on 
the  7th  of  July,  1848,  and  when  in  the  following  August 
he  went  to  Buffalo,  he  took  the  step  of  a  lifetime,  for  thence- 
forward he  never  ceased  to  hunger  for  a  public  and  political 
career.  Had  the  contribution  he  made  to  politics  and  polit- 
ical discussion  been  large,  it  might  have  compensated  for 
the  loss  both  he  and  his  profession  sustained  when  he  wan- 
dered from  it ;  but  such  was  not  the  case,  for  he  never  gave 
himself  sufficiently  to  public  questions  to  exert  a  percep- 
tible influence  upon  results.  His  was  but  an  intermittent 
voice  in  a  loud  and  sustained  tumult,  —  a  voice  that  was 
lost  in  the  uproar. 

Nevertheless,  both  inclination  and  a  sense  of  political 
duty  pointing  one  way,  Dana  went  to  Buffalo  in  1848.  He 
went  there  as  a  Webster  Whig,  bolting  the  nomination  for 
the  presidency  of  General  Taylor,  —  doing  what  his  leader 
wanted  to  do,  but  did  not  clearly  see  his  way  to  do.  The 
following  extracts  from  letters  to  his  wife  refer  to  the  con- 
siderations which  induced  him  to  take  part  in  the  Tremont 
Temple  meeting  of  July  7,  and  describe  the  circumstances 
which  led  to  his  being  selected  as  one  of  the  delegates  to 
that  convention,  the  action  taken  at  which  defeated  Lewis 
Cass,  and  made  Zachary  Taylor  president. 

July  8.  I  write  in  a  hurry,  for  I  am  going  to 
spend  Sunday  with  the  Ticknors,  leaving  at  5.30 
P.  M. 

I  sent  you  a  packet  yesterday,  and  a  few  news- 
papers to-day,  that  you  may  see  what  I  am  doing. 
The  "  Whig  "  is  favorable,  the  "  Advertiser  "  hostile, 
and  the  "  Chronotype  "  radical,  so  you  can  judge 
from  them  all.  The  meeting  was  very  large,  in  the 
Temple,  respectable  and  enthusiastic.  Few  of  the 
experienced  politicians  have  joined,  but  I  confidently 
expect  some  action  from  some  of  them.  I  will  send 
you  my  speech  when  it  is  reported  in  full,  in' a  day 


1848.  POLITICS.  135 

or  two.  It  was  very  well  received,  and  my  friends 
who  were  present  said  I  did  extremely  well.  I  am 
in  it,  in  my  heart.  I  think  the  honor  of  Massachu- 
setts requires  it,  and  I  hope  you  will  sympathize 
with  me. 

July  14.  As  to  your  question  about  the  Free 
Soil  movement,  I  cannot  say  that  we  do  think  our 
"efforts  will  put  to  naught  those  of  the  other  par- 
ties." Our  success  depends  upon  the  turn  the  public 
mind  takes  at  the  North  the  next  three  months, 
and  the  candidate  nominated  at  Buffalo.  As  for 
myself,  I  can  truly  answer  your  question  by  saying 
that  it  is  "only  for  principle's  sake  that  I  stir, 
after  the  other  candidates  are  nominated."  If  the 
North  can  be  brought  to  act  with  independence  and 
spirit,  we  may  be  able  to  give  the  Free  Soil  candi- 
date a  very  large  vote  ;  but  whether  enough  to  elect 
him,  or  what  will  be  the  ultimate  result,  I  don't  pre- 
tend to  predict.     "  It  is  a  case  of  duty." 

July  21.  You  will  want  to  know  how  I  came  to 
be  chosen.  Boston  sends  three  delegates,  with  the 
understanding  that  one  is  to  be  taken  from  each  of 
the  three  sections  from  which  our  party  is  made 
up,  —  Whigs,  Democrats,  and  Liberty  Party  men. 
The  last  two  named  each  its  man,  and  the  Whigs 
were  somewhat  divided  between  me  and  Sumner. 
S.  wished  to  go,  and  his  personal  friends  wished  to 
have  him  go,  but  all  the  influential  men  were  in 
favor  of  me,  because  they  said  Sumner  was  not  a 
Whig,  and  would  not  be  so  considered  by  the 
people.  Some  of  them  said,  too,  that  he  had  no 
courage  and  no  opinions  of  his  own,  but  would  be 
influenced  by  others.  The  Free  Soil  men,  who  are 
Whigs,  are  in    favor   of   Judge    McLean    and  they 


136  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  32. 

knew  I  would  go  for  him.  Accordingly  they  agreed 
on  this,  called  upon  Sumner,  and  told  him  he  was 
not  considered  as  a  Whig,  and  that  they  thought  the 
interest  of  the  party  required  the  election  of  one  who 
was  recognized  as  a  decided  Whig.  He  acceded  to 
this  view,  wrote  a  very  proper  letter,  and  gave  up. 
I  told  the  convention  I  should  do  all  I  could  in  favor 
of  Judge  McLean,  but  should  accede  to  the  nomina- 
tion of  Van  Buren  if  it  was  made.  This  is  the  his- 
tory of  the  thing,  and  such  is  my  position.  If 
McLean  is  nominated,  we  shall  do  very  well  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, but  if  Van  Buren,  we  shall  be  beaten.  It 
is  rather  a  forlorn  hope  in  Boston,  where  the  mon- 
eyed interest  is  so  strong  and  so  utterly  indifferent 
to  slavery.  I  expect  to  die  an  honorable  death ;  at 
least,  I  am  prepared  to.  How  much  I  regret  the 
want  of  pecuniary  means.  I  could  give  time  and 
money  to  this  cause  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  an  aid  to 
it  and  a  credit  to  myself. 

July  28.  Our  politics  are  a  most  absorbing  topic. 
We  can  hardly  think  of  anything  else.  I  am  obliged 
to  exert  every  effort  to  secure  the  right  action  of  the 
Buffalo  Convention,  by  letters  and  conversation  with 
persons  of  every  grade  of  opinion.  I  happen  by  cir- 
cumstances to  be  put  in  a  measure  at  the  head  of 
the  party  in  Boston,  and  have  much  to  do.  If  we 
nominate  McLean  and  go  forward  well,  and  public 
sentiment  goes  with  us,  I  shall  yield  to  older  and 
more  distinguished  men;  but  if  Van  Buren  is  nomi- 
nated and  we  have  up-hill  work  here,  I  suppose  I 
shall  be  left  undisturbed.  But  the  cause  looks  very 
well  indeed.  I  believe  the  spirit  of  the  people  is 
getting  fairly  roused  at  last,  except  in  Boston. 

Did  I  tell  3^ou  that  I  found  on  examining  the  his- 


1848.  BUFFALO   CONVENTION.  137 

tory  of  the  original  Free  Soil  ordinance  of  1787  that 
it  was  seconded  in  the  Continental  Congress  by  my 
great  grandfather  Ellery,  moved  by  Rufus  King  ? 

From  this  point  the  diary  completes  the  narrative. 

August  4-7.  Friday.  Left  for  Buffalo  via  New- 
York  at  five  P.  M.  .  .  .  Left  New  York  Saturday 
A.  M.  in  the  H.  Hudson  and  reached  Albany  at 
night,  rooms  at  Congress  Hall.  .  .  .  Meeting  in  the 
cabin  of  all  Buffalo  people.  Voted  to  have  the  con- 
vention organized  with  three  from  each  district,  etc. 
Left  at  seven  P.  M.  Sunday,  and  reached  Canandaigua 
at  twelve  M.  of  Monday,  travelling  all  night.  Left 
Canandaigua  at  night,  slept  four  hours  at  Rochester, 
and  reached  Buffalo  at  noon.  Rooms  at  American 
House. 

August  9.  Convention  meets.  Charles  Francis 
Adams  chosen  president,  received  with  great  applause, 
and  high  tributes  paid  to  his  father  and  his  State. 

The  recommendation  of  the  committees  adopted. 
This  results  in  a  mass  convention  to  hear  speeches 
and  ratify,  and  a  select  convention,  called  conferees, 
to  do  the  work  —  the  latter  being  the  actual  dele- 
gates—  each  State  three  times  its  electoral  vote. 
Our  delegation  mainly  at  the  American,  and  our  head- 
quarters there.  C.  F.  Adams,  S.  C.  Phillips,  Jno. 
Mills,  our  most  prominent  men.  Wm.  F.  Channing 
and  Cummings,  the  abolition  editor,  though  neither 
of  them  delegates,  attend  one  of  our  meetings,  in 
onrroom,  make  motion,  speak,  vote,  and  try  to  inter- 
fere with  the  organization  in  the  tenth  district,  but 
are  voted  down.  When  members  generally  learned 
that  they  were  not  delegates,  they  were  much  sur- 
prised, and  they  lost  all  influence. 


138  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  33. 

Meeting  of  conferees  at  the  court-house.  Chase,  of 
Ohio,  president,  and  S.  C.  Phillips  first  vice-president, 
and  acting.  Organize  and  vote  to  have  an  informal 
ballot,  viva  voce. 

August  10.  Delegates  meet  at  twelve  M.  in  the 
Universalist  church,  which  is  on  the  Park,  opposite 
the  tent.  It  has  no  galleries,  and  none  are  admitted 
but  delegates,  not  even  reporters.  The  States  have 
seats  assigned  them.  Massachusetts  and  New  York 
and  Ohio  in  front  and  centre,  Pennsylvania  on  the 
left,  Indiana,  Illinois,  etc.,  on  the  right,  and  the  smaller 
delegations  at  the  sides. 

B.  F.  Butler  from  the  committee  on  the  Platform 
reports  the  resolutions  constituting  the  Platform. 
These  were  first  drawn  by  a  sub-committee  of  seven, 
unanimously  agreed  upon,  then  reported  to  the  full 
committee  of  three  from  each  State,  discussed,  modi- 
fied and  unanimously  adopted.  These  were  adopted 
by  the  delegates,  by  acclamation,  and  without  debate. 
We  reported  them  to  the  mass  convention,  which 
adopted  them  in  the  same  manner  with  great  enthu- 
siasm. In  our  (delegates')  convention,  every  sentence 
was  applauded,  and  some  enthusiastically,  with  shouts 
and  screams,  waving  of  hats  and  handkerchiefs. 

The  Platform  having  been  adopted,  we  proceeded 
to  the  subject  of  the  presidency,  and  it  was  a  proof  of 
the  determination  and  principle  of  the  convention, 
that  it  refused  to  do  anything  about  the  nomination 
until  the  Platform  was  settled,  although  it  involved 
a  delay  of  nearly  a  day. 

It  was  voted  to  call  the  roll  of  members,  and  that 
each  member  should  nominate  the  person  who  was 
his  preference,  it  not  being  a  binding  vote,  either  on 
the  convention  or  on  the  individuals,  but  only  a  mode 
of  ascertaining  opinions,  informally. 


1848.  BUFFALO   CONVENTION  139 

Before  doing  this,  we  required  to  know  the  position 
of  the  candidates.  Judge  McLean  being  named,  Mr. 
Chase  of  Ohio,  nephew  of  Judge  McLean,  president 
of  the  delegates'  convention,  announced  that  Judge 
McLean  was  not  a  candidate.  Explanations  were 
loudly  called  for,  and  Mr.  Chase  further  explained 
that  he  was  authorized  by  Judge  McLean  to  say  that 
he  refused  to  be  a  candidate,  though  his  feelings  were 
with  us.  Mr.  Stanton  then  defined  Mr.  Hale's  posi- 
tion, and  said  that  as  the  platform  was  satisfactory 
to  the  Liberty  party,  Mr.  Hale  authorized  them  to 
abandon  their  nomination  of  him,  made  a  year  ago, 
and  go  into  the  convention  [with  all  candidates]  on 
equal  terms,  to  abide  its  result.  This  was  received 
with  great  applause. 

Mr.  Butler  was  then  loudly  called  for,  to  explain 
the  position  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  He  expressed  his 
personal  willingness  to  do  so,  but  declined  unless 
required  by  a  vote  of  the  convention.  It  was  then 
voted  unanimously  that  he  be  requested  to  explain, 
etc. 

Mr.  Butler  then  made  a  long  and  able  speech,  ex- 
plaining the  history  of  the  Barnburners'  movement, 
ending  by  producing  and  reading  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
letter  of  August  2,  authorizing  his  friends  to  abandon 
his  nomination  at  Utica,  assuring  them  that  it  will  be 
most  satisfactory  to  him  to  have  another  person  nomi- 
nated in  his  place,  and  expressing  the  deepest  interest 
in  the  convention.  Mr.  Butler  expressed  his  belief 
that  Mr.  Van  Buren  would  accept  the  nomination, 
and  adopt  the  platform.  His  friends  put  themselves 
on  the  convention,  to  take  its  chance,  and  abide  its 
results.  This  was  the  turning  point  of  the  conven- 
tion.    For  we  Massachusetts  Whigs  had  determined 


140  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  &?.  33. 

not  to  go  into  the  ballot  unless  the  Democrats  came 
in  on  equal  terms,  and  took  with  us  the  chances  of 
the  nomination. 

The  rolls  were  called.  All  the  Democrats  voted 
for  Mr.  Van  Buret),  and  nearly  all  the  Liberty  men 
for  Hale.  But  Chase  of  Ohio,  Stanton  and  two  or 
three  others,  voted  for  Van  Buren.  The  Whigs  held 
the  balance  of  power.  It  was  a  critical  moment  when 
Massachusetts  was  called.  It  happened  that  S.  C. 
Phillips  was  culled  first.  Being  a  vice-president,  he 
sat  in  the  pulpit,  came  forward  and  said,  in  a  clear 
voice,  —  Martin  Van  Buren.  Applause  broke  out, 
which  the  president  suppressed.  Alvord  voted  the 
same  way,  and  the  two  Democrats,  which  gave  Van 
Buren  four  of  the  six  delegates  at  large.  I  was 
called  next,  and  named  Van  Buren.  The  same  thing 
followed  through  the  other  districts,  the  Liberty  men 
voting  mainly  for  Hale.  Mr.  C.  F.  Adams,  Weston, 
Brooks,  and  perhaps  one  other  Whig  named  Giddings. 
The  result  was  that  in  Massachusetts  Van  Buren  had 
twenty  to  Hale's  ten,  and  there  were  five  scattering 
and  one  absent.  The  scattering  were  Whigs  who 
named  Giddings,  for  consistency's  sake,  but  would 
have  voted  for  Van  Buren  on  an  actual  ballot. 
Adams  told  me  I  was  right.  He  had  a  special  reason 
for  not  naming  Van  Buren  at  first. 

The  result  of  the  whole  call  was  that  244  named 
Van  Buren,  181  Hale,  and  41  were  scattering.  It 
being  clear  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  the  greater 
number,  Mr.  Joshua  Leavitt  of  Massachusetts  rose 
to  address  the  assembly.  He  was  called  to  the 
platform,  and  made  one  of  the  noblest  speeches 
that  was  ever  made  to  a  deliberative  assembly.  He 
sketched  the   history  of   the  Liberty   party  and  its 


1848.  BUFFALO   CONVENTION.  141 

labors,  sacrifices  and  efforts  for  fifteen  years,  the  per- 
secution and  contumely  it  had  suffered,  the  expense 
of  time,  money  and  reputation.  He  spoke  of  Mr. 
Hale,  of  his  noble  conduct,  of  the  devoted  attachment 
of  the  Liberty  party  to  him.  But  now  the  time  had 
come  when  they  must  surrender  all  into  the  hands  of 
this  new  party.  They  must  also  give  up  their  favor- 
ite candidate.  This  was  touching  in  the  extreme. 
We  knew  that  Leavitt  himself  had  sacrificed  and  en- 
dured all  for  this  cause,  and  now,  in  the  moment  of 
its  success,  was  to  dissolve  a  party  of  which  he  was  a 
leader,  to  take  an  inferior  place  among  men  who  had 
just  come  into  the  movement.  Many  were  moved  to 
tears.  One  sentence  of  his  was  triumphant  in  its 
effect,  and  brought  down  the  most  enthusiastic  ap- 
plause. "  This  result,  for  which  we  have  labored  and 
suffered  for  fifteen  years,  the  Providence  of  God  and 
the  misconduct  of  man  have  accomplished  in  an 
hour,"  —  referring  to  the  new  issue  of  Free  Soil, 
raised  by  the  conquest  of  new  territory.  He  con- 
cluded by  moving  the  unanimous  nomination  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren.  This  was  seconded  by  Lewis  of  Ohio, 
also  of  the  Liberty  party,  in  an  admirable  speech, 
and  was  carried  by  acclamation. 

The  question  of  the  vice  -  presidency  now  arose. 
The  president  being  a  Democrat,  it  was  a  matter 
of  course  that  the  vice-president  should  be  a  Whig  ; 
and  as  the  president  was  from  the  East  it  was  agreed 
that  the  vice-president  should  be  nominated  by  the 
West.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Sedgwick  of  Massachusetts 
moved  that  the  roll  be  called,  beginning  at  the  West. 
We  then  adjourned  for  tea,  upon  a  suggestion  that 
consultation  would  save  time.  The  general  under- 
standing was   that    Ohio,  the   chief  western   Stato, 


142  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  33. 

should  consult  the  others,  and  that  their  nomination 
should  be  received.  Ohio  met  and  was  unanimous 
for  Mr.  Adams.  There  was  an  enthusiasm  for  him, 
partly  on  account  of  his  father,  whose  memory  they 
desired  to  honor  and  vindicate,  and  partly  on  his  own 
account,  to  vindicate  him,  as  the  early  champion  of 
the  Conscience  Whigs,  against  the  attacks  and  sneers 
of  the  Cotton  Whigs  of  Massachusetts.  The  feeling 
for  J.  Q.  Adams  was  far  greater  than  I  had  imagined. 
People  crowded  about  the  son,  shook  his  hands,  spoke 
of  their  admiration  for  the  "  old  man,"  and  seemed 
by  a  natural  process  of  the  mind  to  desire  to  show  to 
him  the  respect  they  could  not  show  to  the  father. 
The  other  western  States  were  also  unanimous,  and 
the  sixty  [and]  odd  delegates  from  Pennsylvania  met 
and  resolved  on  Adams.  A  committee  then  called 
upon  him,  and  told  him  what  they  meant  to  do. 
He  at  first  refused,  telling  them  it  was  agreed  it 
should  be  a  western  man.  "  No,"  said  these  gener- 
ous, whole-souled  men,  "  No,  the  agreement  was  that 
it  should  be  a  western  nomination,  and  we  agree  on 
you." 

Mr.  Adams  was  very  much  affected,  and  said  he 
should  do  nothing,  but  leave  it  entirely  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts delegation.  We  were  called  together,  and 
agreed  to  say  that  we  should  leave  it  entirely  to  them 
—  that  we  should  do  nothing  for  Mr.  Adams,  but  if 
they  chose  to  take  him,  we  were  much  obliged  to 
them. 

The  convention  met  at  eight  P.  M.  Before  coming 
to  order,  Mr.  I.  L.  White  of  New  York  spoke  to  the 
western  men  about  Craven  of  Indiana,  but  they  said 
they  did  not  want  him,  they  wanted  Mr.  Adams. 
An  old   fellow  from  Wisconsin,  with  sunburnt  face, 


1848.  BUFFALO   CONVENTION.  143 

hook  nose,  deep  voice,  and  a  noble,  ardent  counte- 
nance, seeing  iny  badge,  clapped  bis  great  hand  on 
my  shoulder,  and  said,  "Yes,  sir,  we  want  him. 
He 's  the  man  for  this  day  and  time.  There  he  is 
with  the  crape  on  his  hat  now."  Mr.  Adams  wore 
crape  on  a  white  hat  for  his  father.  It  went  to  the 
hearts  of  these  men,  as  though  he  had  carried  his  im- 
age before  him. 

A  gentleman  rose  and  stated  the  opinion  and  feel- 
ing of  the  West,  and  moved  that  Charles  F.  Adams 
of  Massachusetts  be  unanimously  nominated.  Never, 
since  my  ears  first  admitted  sound,  have  I  heard  such 
an  acclamation.  Men  sprang  upon  the  tops  of  the 
seats,  threw  their  hats  in  the  air,  and  even  to  the 
ceiling.  The  cheering  was  repeated,  the  news  spread 
to  the  tent,  and  in  a  moment  we  heard  it  given  back 
with  interest.  We  went  on  cheering,  three  for  John 
P.  Hale  and  his  noble  friends,  three  for  the  Liberty 
party  and  Joshua  Leavitt,  three  for  the  Whigs,  three 
for  the  Barnburners,  three  for  John  Van  Buren, 
three  for  the  Platform,  etc. 

Some  inferior  business  being  disposed  of,  we  ad- 
journed sine  die,  and  our  chairman  reported  to  the 
Massachusetts  Convention.  Here  again  the  platform 
and  candidates  were  confirmed  by  a  tremendous  ac- 
clamation, and  after  songs  and  speeches  the  conven- 
tion adjourned  sine  die. 

Thus  ended  a  noble  and  providentially  successful 
convention.  It  was  vital  in  every  part,  and  con- 
ducted with  absolute  fairness.  Each  district,  in  send- 
ing its  three  delegates,  had,  as  far  as  practicable,  one 
from  each  of  the  former  parties.  In  New  York 
there  were  thirty-six  from  Democrats,  thirty-six 
Whigs,  and  thirty-six  Liberty  men,  or  persons  who 


144  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.ZZ. 

were  nominated  and  stood  as  such,  and  in  Van 
B  men's  own  State,  almost  every  third  vote  was  for 
Hale.  So  in  every  other  State.  Not  an  unpleasant 
word  was  uttered,  not  a  personality  arose,  not  a  point 
of  order  was  raised  or  disputed,  not  a  complaint  of 
unfairness  was  made  in  the  organization  or  conduct 
of  the  convention. 

August  11.  Friday.  Left  at  7.45  A.  M.  for  Al- 
bany, travelling  day  and  night,  reached  Albany  Sat- 
urday at  nine  A.  M.,  took  bath  and  dined  at  Delavan 
&  Co.'s.  Left  at  2.45  P.  M.  for  Springfield  and  Hart- 
ford, and  reached  Wethersfield  at  eleven  o'clock  at 
night. 

During  the  months  which  followed  Dana  took  an  active 
part  in  the  political  campaign,  making  speeches  in  favor  of 
the  nominees  of  the  Free  Soil  party.  All  this  must  have 
seriously  interfered  with  his  professional  work,  but,  like  lec- 
turing, it  brought  him  in  contact  with  a  great  number  of 
people,  thus  causing  him  to  be  more  widely  known.  The 
election  over,  he  returned  to  the  routine  of  a  lawyer's  life. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  ADIRONDACKS  AND  JOHN  BROWN. 

The  next  year  Dana  visited  the  Adirondacks  for  his  vaca- 
tion outing.  His  diary  contains  a  long  and  vivid  account 
of  his  experiences,  and  of  the  exposure  and  fatigue  he  un- 
derwent, and,  it  ought  to  be  added,  thoroughly  enjoyed. 
The  original  record  is  still  interesting,  notwithstanding  those 
imperfections  which  necessarily  occur  in  every  uncorrected 
first  draft  of  a  narrative  filling  many  pages  ;  but  during  this 
trip  Dana  chanced  upon  no  less  a  person  than  the  after- 
wards famous  John  Brown,  then  living  as  a  farmer  in  the 
wilds  of  northern  New  York.  More  than  twenty  years  later 
Dana  wrote  out  for  the  "  Atlantic  Monthly  "  (July,  1871) 
the  following  account  of  this  experience  :  — 

...  In  the  summer  of  1849  Mr.  Metcalf  and  I 
went  into  the  Adirondacks,  then  but  little  known  to 
tourists.  Our  journey  up  the  valley  of  the  Connecti- 
cut, across  Vermont,  and  up  Lake  Champlain,  full  of 
beauties  as  it  was,  presented  nothing  that  would  be 
new  to  most  readers.  At  Westport,  near  the  head 
of  Lake  Champlain  on  the  New  York  side,  we  found 
a  delightful  colony  of  New  England  friends  —  a  re- 
tired officer  of  the  army,  and  two  Boston  gentlemen, 
one  of  leisure  and  one  of  business  —  planted  in  as 
charming  a  neighborhood  as  one  need  wish  to  live  in, 
—  the  lake  before  them,  the  Green  Mountain  range 
across  the  lake,  and  the  Adirondacks  towering  and 
stretching  along  the  western  horizon. 


146  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  iET.  33. 

At  this  time  Westport  had  sprung  into  active  life 
by  means  of  an  enterprise  of  Boston  capitalists,  who 
had  set  up  iron-works  there.  All  had  an  appearance 
of  successful  business.  The  houses  of  the  workmen, 
and  the  other  appurtenances  and  surroundings  were 
marked  by  a  style  which  was  but  too  pleasing  to  the 
fancy;  yet  they  were  the  results  of  the  application  of 
wealth  under  good  taste,  and  with  a  large  view  to  the 
future.  Changes  of  business  or  of  tariffs  or  other 
causes  have  long  ago  brought  all  this  to  an  end  ;  and 
I  suppose  the  little  village  has  relapsed  into  its  origi- 
nal state  of  torpor  and  insignificance. 

Here  we  took  up  a  companion  for  our  wild  tour, 
Mr.  Aikens,  in  theory  a  lawyer,  but  in  practice  a 
traveller,  sportsman,  and  woodsman  ;  and  Mr.  Jack- 
son lent  us  a  wagon  with  a  pair  of  mules,  and  a  boy 
Tommy  to  commissary  and  persuade  the  mules,  and 
we  drove  out  of  Westport  in  the  afternoon  of  a  very 
hot  day  and  made  for  the  mountains.  Our  route  lay 
through  Pleasant  Valley,  along  the  pretty  Bouquet 
River,  which  flows  from  the  mountains,  winding 
among  graceful  hills,  into  the  lake.  We  baited  at 
Elizabethtown,  and  spent  the  night  at  Ford's  tavern, 
in  the  township  of  Keene,  sleeping  on  the  floor,  and 
finding  that  we  were  expected  to  wash  in  the  river, 
and  were  on  our  way  again  before  sunrise.  From 
Keene  westward  we  began  to  meet  signs  of  frontier 
life,  —  log-eabins,  little  clearings,  bad  roads  over- 
shadowed by  forests,  mountain  torrents,  and  the  re- 
freshing odor  of  balsam  firs  and  hemlocks.  The  next 
morning  we  stopped  at  a  log-house  to  breakfast,  and 
found  a  guide  to  take  us  through  the  Indian  Pass, 
and  sent  Tommy  and  his  mules  forward  to  Osgood's 
tavern  ;  and,  with  no  luggage  but  such  as  we  could 


1849.  THE  ADIRONDACKS.  147 

easily  carry  on  our  backs,  began  our  walk  to  Lake 
Sandford,  Tahawus  and  the  Adirondack  Iron-Works. 
The  day  was  extremely  hot;  and  as  the  distance 
was  less  than  twenty  miles,  we  went  on  rather  lei- 
surely, stopping  and  wondering  at  the  noble  expanse 
of  mountain  scenery.  There  was  no  footpath,  and 
we  went  by  blazed  lines,  over  fallen  timber,  from 
stream  to  stream,  from  hilltop  to  hilltop,  through 
undergrowth  and  copse,  treading  on  moss  and  strewn 
leaves  vhich  masked  roots  of  trees  and  loose  stones 
and  other  matter  for  stumbling  ;  a  laborious  journey, 
but  full  of  interest  from  the  objects  near  at  hand,  and 
made  sublime  by  the  sense  of  the  presence  of  those 
vast-stretching  ranges  of  mountains.  In  the  afternoon 
we  came  into  the  Indian  Pass.  This  is  a  ravine, 
or  gorge,  formed  by  two  close  and  parallel  walls  of 
nearly  perpendicular  cliffs,  of  about  thirteen  hundred 
feet  in  height,  and  almost  black  in  their  hue.  Before 
I  had  seen  the  Yosemite  Valley,  these  cliffs  satisfied 
my  ideal  of  steep  mountain  walls.  From  the  highest 
level  of  the  Pass  flow  two  mountain  torrents,  in 
opposite  directions,  —  one  the  source  of  the  Hudson, 
and  so  reaching  the  Atlantic ;  and  the  other  the 
source  of  the  Au  Sable,  which  runs  into  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  and  at  last  into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  —  but 
no  larger  when  they  begin,  trickling  from  the  rocks, 
than  streams  from  the  nose  of  a  teapot.  The  pines 
growing  in  the  high  crevices  look  no  bigger  than  pins, 
and  in  much  of  this  Pass  there  is  only  a  narrow 
seam  of  sky  right  overhead.  Almost  a  wintry  chill 
pervades  the  air,  and  we  refreshed  ourselves  with 
water  dripping  from  out  of  ice-caverns,  and  walked 
over  banks  of  snow  which  lie  here  through  the  year, 
preserved  by  the  exclusion  of  the  sun.     Neither  road 


148  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  33. 

nor  footpath  is  practicable  here,  and  the  scene  is  one 
of  wild,  silent,  awful  grandeur. 

Coming  out  of  the  Pass,  a  few  miles  of  rough 
walking  on  a  downward  grade  brought  us  again  to 
small  clearings,  cuttings  of  wood  piled  up  to  be  carried 
off  when  the  snow  should  make  sledding  over  the 
stumps  of  trees  practicable  ;  and  about  sundown  we 
straggled  into  the  little  extemporized  iron- workers' 
village  of  Adirondack. 

This  was  as  wild  a  spot  for  a  manufacturing  village 
as  can  well  be  imagined,  —  in  the  heart  of  the  moun- 
tains, with  a  difficult  communication  to  the  south- 
ward, and  none  at  all  in  any  other  direction,  —  a 
mere  clearing  in  a  forest  that  stretches  into  Canada. 
It  stood  on  a  rapid  stream  which  flows  from  Lake 
Henderson  into  Lake  Sand  ford,  where  it  was  hoped 
that  the  water-power  and  the  vicinity  of  good  ore 
would  counter-balance  the  difficulties  of  transporta- 
tion. The  works,  which  were  called  the  Adirondack 
Iron- Works,  were  begun  and  carried  on  with  an  en- 
terprise and  frugality  that  deserved  better  luck  than, 
I  understand,  befell  them  at  last.  There  were  no  at- 
tempts here  at  the  taste  or  style  the  Boston  capitalists 
had  displayed  at  Westport.  All  things  had  the  nitor 
in  adversum  look.  The  a^ent  lived  in  a  house  where 
it  was  plain  that  one  room  served  for  parlor,  kitchen, 
and  nursery.  He  was  a  hard-worked,  sore-pressed 
man.  A  chance  to  sleep  on  a  floor  in  a  house  with 
ninety-six  puddlers,  with  liberty  to  wash  in  the  stream, 
was  as  fair  a  result  as  we  had  a  right  to  expect  in  the 
one  house  into  which  strangers  could  be  received. 
But  then  we  had  the  consolation  that  our  landlord 
was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  wrote  "esquire  "  after 
his  name,  and  had  actually  married  a  couple,  it  was 


1849.  THE   ADIRONDACKS.  149 

hoped  in  due  form,  and  was  popularly  supposed  to  be 
able  to  fill  out  a  writ,  it'  the  rough  habits  of  the  peo- 
ple should  ever  call  fur  so  formal  a  process. 

The  three  or  four  days  we  were  here  we  gave  to 
excursions  up  and  down  Lake  Sandford,  to  Newcomb's 
farm,  and  Dan  Gates's  camp,  and  to  the  top  of  Taha- 
wus.  A  small  company  of  woodsmen,  professional 
hunters  and  trappers,  took  us  under  their  charge  —  as 
good  a  set  of  honest,  decent,  kind-hearted,  sensible 
men  as  one  could  expect  to  meet  with,  having,  I 
thought,  more  propriety  of  talk  and  manners,  more 
enlargement  of  mind  and  general  knowledge,  than 
the  same  number  of  common  sailors  taken  equally  at 
random  would  have  shown.  There  was  Dan  Gates 
and  Tone  Snyder  —  I  suppose  an  abbreviation  of 
Anthony  or  Antoine  —  and  John  Cheney  and  Jack 
Wright,  names  redoient  in  memory  of  rifles  and  sa- 
ble-traps, and  hemlock  camps  and  deer,  and  trout  and 
hard  walks  and  good  talks.  We  rowed  up  Lake 
Sandford  at  dawn  and  back  by  moonlight,  visiting  the 
Newcomb  farm,  and  drinking  of  the  spring  on  the  hill 
by  the  side  of  Lake  Delia,  to  which  opinion  had  at- 
tached marvellous  restorative  powers. 

The  scenery  here  is  as  different  from  that  of  the 
White  Mountains  as  if  these  were  in  a  different  hem- 
isphere. Here  the  mountains  wave  with  woods,  and 
are  green  with  bushes  to  their  summits  ;  torrents 
break  down  into  the  valleys  on  all  sides  ;  lakes  of 
various  sizes  and  shapes  glitter  in  the  landscape, 
bordered  by  bending  woods  whose  roots  strike  through 
the  waters.  There  is  none  of  that  dreary,  barren 
grandeur  that  marks  the  White  Mountains,  although 
Tahavvus,  the  highest,  is  about  fifty-four  hundred  feet 
high  —  only  some  six  hundred  or  seven  hundred  feet 


150  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  33. 

less  than  Mount  Washington.  The  Indian  Pass 
frowns  over  one  end  of  the  lake,  and  Tahawus  and 
Mount  Mclntire  tower  on  each  side ;  and  at  nearly 
all  points  on  the  lake  were  the  most  voluble  echoes, 
which  the  shouts  of  the  boatmen  awakened  for  us. 
The  moon,  the  mountains,  the  lake,  the  dipping  oars 
and  the  echoes  made  Lake  Sandford  a  fascination  in 
the  remembrance. 

We  spent  two  days  and  nights  in  the  ascent  of 
Tahawus  and  the  return,  camping  out  under  hemlock 
boughs,  cooking  our  trout  and  venison  in  the  open 
air,  and  enjoying  it  all  as  I  verily  believe  none  can  so 
thoroughly  as  they  who  escape  from  city  life.  Some 
sycophantic  state  surveyor  had  named  this  mountain 
Mount  Marcy,  after  the  then  leader  of  the  political 
party  in  power  ;  but  a  company  of  travellers  have 
chiselled  the  old  Indian  name  into  rocks  at  its  sum- 
mit, and  called  upon  all  who  follow  them  to  aid  in  its 
preservation.  The  woodsmen  have  taken  it  up,  and 
I  hope  this  king  of  the  range  may  be  saved  from  the 
incongruous  nomenclature  that  has  got  possession  of 
too  large  a  part  of  this  region.  Sandford  and  Mcln- 
tire and  Marcy,  the  names  of  local  politicians,  like 
bits  of  last  year's  newspapers  on  the  bob  of  a  kite, 
tied  to  th^se  majestic,  solemn  mountains,  "rock- 
ribbed  and  ancient  as  the  sun  "  !  In  the  White 
Mountains  I  fear  that  too  long  a  prescription  has 
settled  down  over  those  names  which  have  not  un- 
fairly subjected  us  to  the  charge  of  being  without 
imagination  or  fancy,  —  g^ing  to  our  almanacs  and 
looking  up  lists  of  presidents  and  members  of  Congress 
and  stump-speakers,  as  our  only  resource,  when  put 
to  it  to  find  designations  for  the  grandest  objects  in 
nature ;  while  in  their  speechless  agony  the  mountains 


1849. 


THE  AD1R0NDACKS.  151 


must  endure  the  ignominy,  and  all  mankind  must 
suffer  the  discord  between  the  emotions  these  scenes 
call  up  and  the  purely  mundane  and  political  associ- 
ations that  belong  to  the  names  of  Jefferson  and 
Adams,  Clay  and  Monroe  and  Jackson. 

I  must  pause  a  moment  at  Calamity  Pond,  for  its 
story  is  too  deep  in  my  memory  to  be  passed  by. 
Not  long  before  our  visit,  Mr.  Henderson,  one  of  the 
proprietors  and  managers  of  the  iron-works,  a  popular 
man  in  all  this  region,  went  up  to  the  pond,  which 
lies  on  the  way  to  the  summit  of  Tahawus,  to  make 
arrangements  for  turning  a  watercourse  into  the  vil- 
lage. Sitting  on  a  rock  by  the  side  of  the  pond,  he 
laid  down  his  pistol ;  the  hammer  struck  a  trifle  too 
hard  upon  the  rock,  exploded  the  cap,  and  the  ball 
went  through  his  heart.  He  had  just  time  to  send  a 
word  of  farewell  to  his  wife  and  children,  when  it  was 
all  over.  The  sorrow-stricken  company  hastened  to 
the  village  with  the  sad  tidings,  and  then  a  party  of 
the  best  woodsmen  —  for  Henderson  was  beloved  by 
them  all  —  was  organized  and  went  to  the  fatal  spot. 
They  had  made  a  rude  bier  and  bore  the  body  slowly 
down,  cutting  a  path  through  the  woods  as  they  went, 
to  a  spot  near  the  level,  where  they  camped  for  the 
night,  and  where,  the  next  day,  nearly  the  whole  vil- 
lage came  out  to  meet  them.  The  sheet  of  water  has 
been  called  Calamity  Pond,  and  the  rock,  Henderson's 
Rock.  As  we  passed  the  site  of  the  camp  we  saw  the 
rude  bier,  —  a  vivid  reminder  of  the  sad  event ;  and  as 
we  stood  by  the  pond  the  story  was  told  over  with 
natural  pathos,  and  —  "  What  a  place  for  a  man  to 
die  in,  and  without  a  moment's  warning !  "  said  Dan 
Gates.  "What  a  place  to  build  a  camp  in!"  said 
another.     Dan  and  Tone  admitted  it,  and  said  they 


152  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  Mv.  33. 

all  seemed  to  lose  their  wits.  This  was  before  our 
civil  war  had  made  sudden  deaths  in  all  forms  aud  in 
vast  numbers  so  familiar. 

The  Opalescent,  which  comes  down  from  Tahawus, 
is  a  captivating  mountain  stream,  with  very  irregular 
courses,  often  broken  by  cascades  aud  rapids,  tum- 
bling into  deep  basins,  running  through  steep  gorges 
and  from  under  overlying  banks,  always  clear  and 
sparkling  and  cool.  The  last  mile  of  the  ascent  was 
then  —  doubtless  the  axe  has  been  at  work  upon  it 
since  —  a  toilsome  struggle  through  a  dense  growth 
of  scrub  cedars  and  spruces,  and  it  is  only  the  summit 
that  is  bare.  With  this  and  the  summit  of  Mount 
Washington,  now  probably  but  three  or  four  days 
apart,  the  traveller  can  get  the  two  extreme  oppo- 
sites  of  North  American  mountain  scenery  ;  the  view 
from  Mount  Washington  being  a  wild  sea  of  bald 
bare  tops  and  sides,  with  but  little  wood  or  water, 
while  that  from  Tahawus  is  a  limitless  expanse  of 
forest,  with  mountains  green  to  their  tops,  and  all  the 
landscape  dotted  and  lined  with  the  wide  mirrors  of 
large  lakes,  glittering  bits  of  small  lakes,  silver 
threads  of  streams,  and  ribbons  of  waterfalls. 

As  we  lay  on  the  boughs,  with  the  fire  sparkling 
before  us,  a  good  many  stories  were  told,  marvellous, 
funny  or  pathetic,  which  have  long  since  floated  off 
from  their  moorings  in  memory. 

But  it  is  time  to  take  leave  of  our  excellent 
friends,  whose  companionship  I  shall  never  forget, 
and  move  on  towards  the  promised  point  of  my  jour- 
ney. 

We  had  sent  back  the  guide,  who  had  brought  us 
through  the  Indian  Pass ;  for  Mr.  Aikens  was  a 
good  woodsman,  and  had  no  doubt  he  could  take  us 


1849.  THE   ADIRONDACKS.  loS 

back.  About  the  middle  of  the  day  we  bade  good- 
by  to  Dan  and  Tone  and  John,  and  took  our  last 
look  at  the  straggling,  struggling  village, — in  a  few 
years,  I  believe,  abandoned  altogether,  —  and  went 
through  the  Pass  and  crossed  the  first  branch  of  the 
Au  Sable,  and  ought  to  have  crossed  the  second  be- 
fore five  o'clock  ;  but  the  sun  was  far  declined,  it 
was  getting  to  be  six  o'clock  and  after,  and  yet  no 
river !  Aikens  became  silent ;  but  it  was  soon  too 
evident  that  he  had  lost  the  trail.  We  had  been  led 
off  by  a  blazed  line  that  went  to  sable-traps  ;  and 
here  we  were,  at  nightfall,  lost  in  a  forest  that 
stretched  to  Canada,  and,  for  aught  I  know  to  the 
contrary,  to  the  Polar  Circle,  with  no  food,  no  gun, 
blanket  nor  overcoats.  Expecting  to  get  through 
in  six  hours,  we  had  taken  nothing  with  us.  We 
consulted,  and  determined  to  strike  through  the 
woods,  steering  by  the  sun  — for  we  had  no  compass 

—  in  the  direction  in  which  we  thought  the  river 
lay.  Our  course  should  be  north  ;  and  we  went  on, 
keeping  the  setting  sun  a  little  forward  of  our  left 
shoulders,  —  or,  as  a  sailor  would  say,  a  little  on  the 
port  bow, — and  struggled  over  fallen  timber  and 
through  underbrush,  and  climbed  hills  and  tried  to 
get  a  view  of  White  Face,  but  to  no  purpose,  and  the 
darkness  overtook  us  in  low  ground,  by  the  side  of  a 
small  stream.  We  were  very  hungry,  very  much  fa- 
tigued, and  not  a  little  anxious  ;  and  the  stories  they 
had  told  us  at  the  village  of  parties  lost  in  the  forest, 

—  one  especially,  of  three  men  who  failed  to  come  in 
and  were  searched  for  and  found,  after  several  days, 
little  better  than  skeletons  and  almost  crazed, — 
these  recurred  pretty  vividly  to  our  fancies.  We 
drank  at  the  stream,  and  Aikens,  never  at  a  loss,  cut 


154  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  33. 

a  bit  of  red  flannel  from  his  shirt,  and  bent  a  pin 
and  managed  to  catch  one  little  trout  in  the  twilight. 
He  insisted  on  our  taking  it  all.  He  said  he  had  got 
us  into  the  trouble  by  his  over-confidence  ;  but  we 
resisted.  It  was,  to  be  sure,  a  question  of  a  square 
inch  of  trout  more  or  less,  for  the  fish  was  not  more 
than  four  inches  long  by  one  inch  thick  ;  yet  it  was 
a  point  of  honor  with  Mr.  Aikens,  so  we  yielded,  and 
got  one  fair  mouthful  apiece.  The  place  was  low 
and  damp,  and  there  was  a  light  frost,  and  we  passed 
a  miserable  night,  having  no  clothing  but  our  shirts 
and  trousers.  The  black-flies  were  very  active,  and 
our  faces  and  arms  and  necks  were  blotched  and 
pitted  in  the  saddest  fashion.  It  was  with  anxious 
eyes  that  we  watched  the  dawn  ;  for  if  the  day  was 
clear,  we  could  travel  by  the  sun  until  it  got  high, 
but  if  it  was  thick  or  foggy,  we  must  stay  still ;  for 
every  one  used  to  the  woods  knows  that  one  may  go 
round  and  round  and  make  no  progress,  if  he  has  no 
compass  or  point  of  sight.  The  day  did  break  clear ; 
and,  as  soon  as  there  was  light  enough,  Aikens 
groped  about  the  skirts  of  the  little  opening,  and 
made  out  signs  that  a  path  had  once  come  into  it. 
He  thought  the  brush  grew  differently  at  one  place 
from  what  it  did  elsewhere.  Very  well !  We  gave 
ourselves  up  to  him,  and  began  another  day's  strug- 
gle with  fallen  timber,  hillsides,  swamps,  and  under- 
growth, on  very  faint  stomachs,  but  with  every  show 
to  each  other  of  confidence  and  strength.  In  an 
hour  or  so  plainer  signs  of  a  path  rewarded  Aikens's 
sagacity.  I  was  glad  for  him  especially  ;  for  he  was 
a  good  deal  annoyed  at  the  trouble  we  were  put  to ; 
and  a  better  woodsman,  for  an  amateur,  or  a  more  in- 
telligent and  generous  fellow-traveller,  we  could  not 


1849.  THE  ADIRONDACKS.  155 

have  desired.  At  last  came  some  welcome  traces  of 
domesticated  animals,  and  then  a  trodden  path,  and 
about  noon  we  came  out  upon  the  road. 

We  were  out,  and  the  danger  was  over.  But 
where  were  we?  We  held  a  council,  and  agreed  that 
we  must  have  got  far  to  the  left,  or  westward,  of  our 
place  of  destination,  and  must  turn  off  to  the  right. 
It  was  of  some  consequence,  for  houses  on  this  road 
were  four  to  seven  miles  apart.  But  the  right  was 
up  hill,  and  a  long  steep  hill  it  seemed.  Mr.  Met- 
calf  plunged  down  hill,  in  contempt  of  his  and  our 
united  grave  conclusions,  saying  we  did  not  know, 
and  had  better  do  what  was  easiest.  And  well  it 
was  we  did,  for  a  near  turn  in  the  road  brought  us  in 
sight  of  a  log-house  and  half-cleared  farm,  while,  had 
we  gone  to  the  right,  we  should  have  found  it  seven 
miles  to  the  nearest  dwelling. 

Three  more  worn,  wearied,  hungry,  black-fly-bit- 
ten travellers  seldom  came  to  this  humble,  hospitable 
door.  The  people  received  us  with  cheerful  sym- 
pathy, and,  while  we  lay  down  on  the  grass,  under 
the  shadow  of  the  house,  where  a  smutch  kept  off 
the  black-flies,  prepared  something  for  our  comfort. 
The  master  of  the  house  had  gone  down  to  the  set- 
tlements, and  was  expected  back  before  dark.  His 
wife  was  rather  an  invalid,  and  we  did  not  see  much 
of  her  at  first.  There  were  a  great  many  sons  and 
daughters,  —  I  never  knew  how  many  ;  one  a  bonny, 
buxom  young  woman  of  some  twenty  summers,  with 
fair  skin  and  red  hair,  whose  name  was  Ruth,  and 
whose  good  humor,  hearty  kindness,  good  sense  and 
helpfulness  quite  won  our  hearts.  She  would  not  let 
us  eat  much  at  a  time,  and  cut  us  resolutely  off  from 
the  quantities  of  milk  and  cool  water  we  were  dis- 


156  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  My.  33. 

posed  to  drink,  and  persuaded  us  to  wait  until  some- 
thing could  be  cooked  for  us,  more  safe  and  whole- 
some for  faint  stomachs  ;  and  we  were  just  weak 
enough  to  be  submissive  subjects  to  this  backwoods 
queen.  A  man  came  along  in  a  wagon,  and  stopped 
to  water  his  herses,  and  they  asked  him  if  he  had 
seen  anything  of  Mr.  Brown  below,  —  which  it 
seemed  was  the  name  of  the  family.  Yes ;  he  had 
seen  him.  He  would  be  along  in  an  hour  or  so. 
"  He  has  two  negroes  along  with  him,"  said  the  man, 
in  a  confidential,  significant  tone,  "a  man  and  a 
woman."  Ruth  smiled,  as  if  she  understood  him. 
Mr.  Aikens  told  us  that  the  country  about  here  be- 
longed to  Gerrit  Smith  ;  that  negro  families,  mostly 
fugitive  slaves,  were  largely  settled  upon  it,  trying 
to  learn  farming ;  and  that  this  Mr.  Brown  was  a 
strong  abolitionist  and  a  kind  of  king  among  them. 
Tins  neighborhood  was  thought  to  be  one  of  the  ter- 
mini of  the  Underground  Railroad. 

The  farm  was  a  mere  recent  clearing.  The 
stumps  of  trees  stood  out,  blackened  by  burning,  and 
crops  were  growing  among  them,  and  there  was  a 
plenty  of  felled  timber.  The  dwelling  was  a  small 
log-house  of  one  story  in  height,  and  the  outbuild- 
ings were  slight.  The  whole  had  the  air  of  a  recent 
enterprise,  on  a  moderate  scale,  although  there  were 
a  good  many  neat  cattle  and  horses.  The  position 
was  a  grand  one  for  a  lover  of  mountain  effects  ;  but 
how  good  for  farming  I  could  not  tell.  Old  White 
Face,  the  only  exception  to  the  uniform  green  and 
brown  and  black  hues  of  the  Adirondack  hills,  stood 
plain  in  view,  rising  at  the  head  of  Lake  Placid,  its 
white  or  pale  gray  side  caused,  we  were  told,  by  a 
land-slide.  All  about  were  the  distant  highest  sum- 
mits of  the  Adirondacks. 


1849.  JOHN  BROWN.  157 

Late  in  the  afternoon  a  long  buckboard  wagon 
came  in  sight,  and  on  it  were  seated  a  negro  man  and 
woman,  with  bundles  ;  while  a  tall,  gaunt,  dark-com- 
plexioned man  walked  before,  having  his  theodolite 
and  other  surveyor's  instruments  with  him,  while 
a  youth  followed  by  the  side  of  the  wagon.  The 
team  turned  in  to  the  sheds,  and  the  man  entered 
the  house.  This  was  "  father."  The  sons  came  out 
and  put  up  the  cattle,  and  soon  we  were  asked  in  to 
the  meal.  Mr.  Brown  came  forward  and  received 
us  with  kindness ;  a  grave,  serious  man  he  seemed, 
with  a  marked  countenance  and  a  natural  dignity  of 
manner,  —  that  dignity  which  is  unconscious,  and 
comes  from  a  superior  habit  of  mind. 

We  were  all  ranged  at  a  long  table,  some  dozen  of 
us  more  or  less  ;  and  these  two  negroes  and  one  other 
had  their  places  with  us.  Mr.  Brown  said  a  solemn 
grace.  I  observed  that  he  called  the  negroes  by  their 
surnames,  with  the  prefixes  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  The 
man  was  "  Mr.  Jefferson,"  and  the  woman  "  Mrs. 
Wait."  He  introduced  us  to  them  in  due  form, 
"Mr.  Dana,  Mr.  Jefferson,"  "Mr.  Metcalf,  Mrs. 
Wait."  It  was  plain  they  had  not  been  so  treated 
or  spoken  to  often  before,  perhaps  never  until  that 
day,  for  they  had  all  the  awkwardness  of  field  hands 
on  a  plantation  ;  and  what  to  do,  on  the  introduc- 
tion, was  quite  beyond  their  experience.  There  was 
an  unrestricted  supply  of  Ruth's  best  bread,  butter 
and  corn-cakes,  and  we  had  some  meat  and  tea,  and 
a  plenty  of  the  best  of  milk. 

We  had  some  talk  with  Mr.  Brown,  who  interested 
us  very  much.  He  told  us  he  came  here  from  the 
western  part  of  Massachusetts.  As  some  persons 
may  distrust  recollections,  after  very  striking  inter- 


158  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  33. 

vening  events,  I  ask  pardon  for  taking  an  extract 
from  a  journal  I  was  in  the  habit  of  keeping  at  those 
times  :  — 

"  The  place  belonged  to  a  man  named  Brown, 
originally  from  Berkshire  in  Massachusetts,  a  thin, 
sinewy,  hard-favored,  clear-headed,  honest-minded 
man,  who  had  spent  all  his  days  as  a  frontier  farmer. 
On  conversing  with  him,  we  found  him  well  informed 
on  most  subjects,  especially  in  the  natural  sciences. 
He  had  books,  and  had  evidently  made  a  diligent  use 
of  them.  Having  acquired  some  property,  he  was 
able  to  keep  a  good  farm,  and  had  confessedly  the 
best  cattle  and  best  farming  utensils  for  miles 
round.  His  wife  looked  superior  to  the  poor  place 
they  lived  in,  which  was  a  cabin,  with  only  four 
rooms.  She  appeared  to  be  out  of  health.  He 
seemed  to  have  an  unlimited  family  of  children,  from 
a  cheerful,  nice,  healthy  woman  of  twenty  or  so,  and 
a  full-sized,  red-haired  son,  who  seemed  to  be  fore- 
man of  the  farm,  through  every  grade  of  boy  and 
girl,  to  a  couple  that  could  hardly  speak  plain. " 

How  all  these,  and  we  three  and  Mr.  Jefferson  and 
Mrs.  Wait,  were  to  be  lodged  here  was  a  problem  ;  but 
Aikens  said  he  had  seen  as  much  done  here  before. 
However,  we  were  not  obliged  to  test  the  expanding 
capacities  of  the  house ;  for  a  man  was  going  down 
to  Osgood's  by  whom  we  sent  a  message,  and  in  an 
hour  or  two  the  smiling  face  of  Tommy  appeared 
behind  his  mules,  and  we  took  leave  of  our  kind  en- 
tertainers. 

In  these  regions  it  is  the  custom  for  farmers  to  re- 
ceive travellers  ;  and  while  they  do  not  take  out  li- 
censes as  inn-holders,  or  receive  strictly  pay  for  what 
they  furnish,  they  always  accept  something  in  the 


1849.  JOHN  BROWN.  150 

way  of  remuneration  from  the  traveller.  When  we 
attempted  to  leave  something  with  Ruth,  which  was 
intended  to  express  our  gratitude  and  good-will,  we 
found  her  inflexible.  She  would  receive  the  bare 
cost  of  what  we  had  taken,  if  we  wished  it,  but  noth- 
ing for  attentions,  or  house-room,  or  as  a  gratuity. 
We  had  some  five-dollar  bills  and  some  bills  of  one 
dollar  each.  She  took  one  of  the  one-dollar  bills  and 
went  up  into  the  garret,  and  returned  with  some 
change  !  It  was  too  piteous.  We  could  not  help 
smiling,  and  told  her  we  should  feel  guilty  of  high- 
way robbery  if  we  took  her  silver.  She  consented  to 
keep  the  one  dollar  for  three  of  us,  —  one  meal  apiece 
and  some  extra  cooking  in  the  morning,  —  as  we 
seemed  to  think  that  was  right.  It  was  plain  this 
family  acted  on  a  principle  in  the  smallest  matters. 
They  knew  pretty  well  the  cost  price  of  the  food  they 
gave ;  and  if  the  traveller  preferred  to  pny,  they 
would  receive  that,  but  nothing  more.  There  was 
no  shamefacedness  about  the  money  transaction 
either.  It  was  business  or  nothing ;  and  if  we  pre- 
ferred to  make  it  business,  it  was  to  be  upon  a  rule. 

After  a  day  spent  on  Lake  Placid,  and  in  ascend- 
ing White  Face,  we  returned  to  Osgood's,  and  the 
next  day  we  took  the  road  in  our  wagon  on  our  re- 
turn to  Westport.  We  could  not  pass  the  Browns' 
house  without  stopping.  I  find  this  entry  in  my 
journal :  — 

"  June  29,  Friday.  After  breakfast,  started  for 
home.  .  .  .  We  stopped  at  the  Browns'  cabin  on  our 
way,  and  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  the  family 
that  had  shown  us  so  much  kindness.  We  found 
them  at  breakfast,  in  the  patriarchal  style.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Brown  and  their  large  family  of  children  with 


160  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  33. 

the  hired  men  and  women,  including  three  negroes, 
all  at  the  table  together.  Their  meal  was  neat,  sub- 
stantial and  wholesome." 

How  mysterious  is  the  touch  of  Fate  which  gives 
a  man  immortality  on  earth  !  It  would  have  been 
past  belief  had  we  been  told  that  this  quiet  frontier 
farmer,  already  at  or  beyond  middle  life,  with  no 
noticeable  past,  would,  within  ten  years,  be  the  cen- 
tral figure  of  a  great  tragic  scene,  gazed  upon  with 
wonder,  pity,  admiration  or  execration  by  half  a  con- 
tinent !  That  this  man  should  be  thought  to  have 
imperilled  the  slave  empire  in  America,  and  added  a 
new  danger  to  the  stability  of  the  Union  !  That  his 
almost  undistinguishable  name  of  John  Brown  should 
be  whispered  among  four  millions  of  slaves,  and  sung 
wherever  the  English  tongue  is  spoken,  and  incor- 
porated into  an  anthem  to  whose  solemn  cadences 
men  should  march  to  battle  by  the  tens  of  thousands ! 
That  he  should  have  done  something  toward  changing 
the  face  of  civilization  itself ! 

In  1859-60  my  inveterate  habit  of  overworking 
gave  me,  as  you  know,  a  vacation  and  the  advantage 
of  a  voyage  round  the  world.  Somewhere  at  the 
antipodes  I  picked  up,  from  time  to  time,  in  a  dis- 
jointed way,  out  of  all  chronological  order,  reports  of 
the  expedition  of  one  John  Brown  into  Virginia,  his 
execution,  and  the  political  excitement  attending  it ; 
but  I  learned  little  of  much  value.  That  was  the 
time  when  slavery  ruled  all.  There  was  scarce  an 
American  consul  or  political  agent  in  any  quarter  of 
the  globe,  or  on  any  island  of  the  seas,  who  was  not 
a  supporter  of  the  slave-power.  I  saw  a  large  por- 
tion of  these  national  representatives  in  my  circum- 
navigation of  the  globe,  and  it  was  impossible  to  find 


1849.  JOHN  BROWN.  1GI 

at  any  office  over  which  the  American  flag  waved  a 
newspaper  that  was  not  in  the  interests  of  slavery. 
No  copy  of  the  New  York  "  Tribune"  or  u  Evening 
Post  "  was  tolerated  under  an  American  official  roof. 
Each  embassy  and  consulate,  the  world  over,  was  a 
centre  of  influences  for  slavery  and  against  freedom. 
We  ought  to  take  this  into  account  when  we  blame 
foreign  nations  for  not  accepting  at  once  the  United 
States  as  an  anti-slavery  power,  bent  on  the  destruc- 
tion of  slavery,  as  soon  as  our  civil  war  broke  out. 
For  twenty  years  foreign  merchants,  shipmasters  or 
travellers  had  seen  in  American  officials  only  trained 
and  devoted  supporters  of  the  slave-power,  and  the 
only  evidences  of  public  opinion  at  home  to  be  found  at 
those  official  seats,  so  much  resorted  to  and  credited, 
were  all  of  the  same  character.  I  returned  home  at 
the  height  of  the  Lincoln  campaign  of  1860,  on  which 
followed  secession  and  war  ;  and  it  was  not  until 
after  the  war,  when  reading  back  into  its  history, 
that  I  met  with  those  unsurpassed  narratives,  by  Mr. 
Wentworth  Higginson  and  Mr.  Wendell  Phillips,  of 
their  visits  to  the  home  of  John  Brown,  about  the 
time  of  his  execution,  full  of  solemn  touches,  and 
marked  by  that  restraint  which  good  taste  and  right 
feeling  accept  in  the  presence  of  a  great  subject, 
itself  so  expressive  of  awe.  Reading  on,  it  went 
through  me  with  a  thrill,  —  This  is  the  man  under 
whose  roof  I  received  shelter  and  kindness  !  These 
were  the  mother  and  daughters  and  sons  who  have 
suffered  or  shed  their  blood  !  This  was  the  family 
whose  artless  heroism,  whose  plain  fidelity  and  forti- 
tude, seem  to  have  cast  chivalry  and  romance  into 
the  shade  ! 

It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  visit  spots  long  hal- 


162  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  33. 

lowed  by  great  events  or  renowned  persons.  The 
course  of  emotions  in  such  cases  is  almost  stereo- 
typed. But  this  retroactive  effect  is  something 
strange  and  anomalous.  It  is  one  thing  to  go  through 
a  pass  of  fear,  watching  your  steps  as  you  go,  con- 
scious of  all  its  grandeur  and  peril,  but  quite  another 
sensation  when  a  glare  of  light,  thrown  backwards, 
shows  you  a  fearful  passage  through  which  you  have 
just  gone  with  careless  steps  and  unheeding  eyes.  It 
seems  as  if  those  few  days  of  ours  in  the  Adirondacks, 
in  1849,  had  been  passed  under  a  spell  which  held 
my  senses  from  knowing  what  we  saw.  All  is  now 
become  a  region  of  peculiar  sacredness.  That  plain, 
bare  farm,  amid  the  blackened  stumps,  the  attempts 
at  scientific  agriculture  under  such  disadvantages,  the 
simple  dwelling,  the  surveyor's  tools,  the  setting  of 
the  little  scene  amid  grand,  awful  mountain  ranges, 
the  negro  colony  and  inmates,  the  family  bred  to 
duty  and  principle,  and  held  to  them  by  a  power  rec- 
ognized as  being  from  above,  —  all  these  now  come 
back  on  my  memory  with  a  character  nowise  changed, 
indeed,  in  substance,  but,  as  it  were,  illuminated. 
The  widow  bearing  homeward  the  body  from  the 
Virginia  scaffold,  with  the  small  company  of  stranger 
friends,  crossed  the  lake,  as  we  had  done,  to  West- 
port;  and  thence,  along  that  mountain  road,  but  in 
mid-winter,  to  Elizabethtown  ;  and  thence,  the  next 
day,  to  the  door  of  that  dwelling.  The  scene  is  often 
visited  now  by  sympathy  or  curiosity,  no  doubt,  and 
master  pens  have  made  it  one  of  the  most  marked  in 
our  recent  history. 

In  this  narrative  I  have  endeavored,  my  dear  friend, 
to  guard  against  the  influence  of  intervening  events, 
and  to  give  all  things  I  saw  in  the  natural,  transient 


1849.  JOHN  BROWN.  163 

way  in  which  they  struck  me  at  the  time.  That  is 
its  only  value.  It  is  now  owing  to  subsequent  events 
that  John  Brown  and  his  family  are  so  impressed  on 
my  mind.  The  impression  was  made  at  the  time. 
The  short  extract  from  a  journal  which  set  down  but 
little,  and  nothing  that  was  not  of  a  marked  charac- 
ter, will,  I  trust,  satisfy  the  most  incredulous  that  I 
am  not  beating  up  memory  for  impressions.  I  have 
tried  to  recollect  something  more  of  John  Brown's 
conversation,  but  in  vain,  nor  can  either  of  my  com- 
panions help  me  in  that.  We  cannot  recollect  that 
slavery  was  talked  of  at  all.  It  seems  strange  it 
should  not  have  been,  as  we  were  Free  Soilers,  and  I 
had  been  to  the  Buffalo  Convention  the  year  before  ; 
but  perhaps  the  presence  of  the  negroes  may  have  re- 
strained us,  as  we  did  not  see  the  master  of  the  house 
alone.  I  notice  that  my  journal  speaks  of  him  as 
"  originally  from  Berkshire,  Massachusetts."  In  ex- 
amining his  biography  I  think  this  must  have  been 
from  his  telling  us  that  he  had  come  from  the  western 
part  of  Massachusetts,  when  he  found  that  we  were 
Massachusetts  men.  I  see  no  proof  of  his  having 
lived  in  any  other  part  of  Massachusetts  than  Spring- 
field. My  journal  speaks  of  the  house  as  a  "  log- 
cabin."  I  observe  that  Mr.  Higginson  and  some  of 
the  biographers  describe  it  as  a  frame  building.  Mr. 
Brown  had  been  but  a  few  months  on  the  place  when 
we  were  there,  and  he  may  have  put  up  a  frame  house 
afterwards ;  or  it  is  quite  as  likely  that  I  was  not 
careful  to  note  the  difference,  and  got  that  impression 
from  its  small  size  and  plain  surroundings. 

Nearly  all  that  the  writers  in  December,  1859,  have 
described  lies  clear  in  my  memory.  There  can  have 
been  little  change  there  in  ten  years.     Ruth  had  be- 


164  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  33. 

come  the  wife  of  Henry  Thompson,  whose  brother 
was  killed  at  Harper's  Ferry  ;  and  the  son  I  speak  of 
as  apparently  the  foreman  of  the  farm  was  probably 
Owen,  who  was  with  his  father  at  Ossawatomie  and 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  escaped.  Frederick,  who  was 
killed  at  Ossawatomie,  in  1856,  was  probably  the  lad 
whom  we  saw  coming  home  with  his  father,  bring- 
ing the  negroes  on  the  wagon.  Among  the  small 
boys,  playing  and  working  about  the  house,  were 
Watson  and  Oliver,  who  were  killed  at  Harper's 
Ferry.  I  do  not  recollect  seeing  —  perhaps  it  was  not 
there  then  —  the  gravestone  of  his  grandfather  of  the 
Revolutionary  Army,  which  John  Brown  is  said  to 
have  taken  from  Connecticut  and  placed  against  the 
side  of  the  house  ;  nor  can  I  recall  the  great  rock, 
near  the  door,  by  the  side  of  which  lies  his  body, 

"  mouldering  in  the  ground, 
While  his  soul  is  marching  on." 

What  judgment  soever  political  loyalty,  social 
ethics  or  military  strategy  may  pronounce  upon  his 
expedition  into  Virginia,  old  John  Brown  has  a  grasp 
on  the  moral  world. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FREE   SOIL   POLITICS. 

The  extracts  from  the  diary  contained  in  this  chapter  re- 
late chiefly  to  political  events  in  Massachusetts  during  the 
years  1849  and  1850.  General  Taylor  died  July  9,  1850, 
and  was  succeeded  in  the  presidency  by  Millard  Fillmore  ; 
Mr.  Webster,  who  a  few  months  before  had  made  his  famous 
7th  of  March  speech,  became  Secretary  of  State,  and  Robert 
C.  Winthrop  was  appointed  by  Governor  George  N.  Briggs, 
the  Legislature  not  being  in  session,  to  the  seat  thus  made 
vacant  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  So  far  as  slavery 
was  concerned,  the  whole  course  of  events  was  reactionary ; 
the  cry  was  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union  and  the  Con- 
stitution, and  in  obedience  to  this  cry  Congress  during  the 
summer  and  autumn  passed,  under  the  lead  of  Henry  Clay, 
that  series  of  laws  known  as  the  compromise  measures  of 
1850.     Among  these  measures  was  the  Fugitive  Slave  act. 

Little  realizing  what  the  following  decennium  had  in  store 
for  it,  the  country  at  this  time  was  thoroughly  weary  of  the 
slavery  question.  It  wanted  to  hear  nothing  more  of  it. 
Accordingly  in  Massachusetts  as  well  as  in  most  other  parts 
of  the  North  the  compromise  measures  were  very  generally 
accepted  as  a  settlement  upon  the  whole  satisfactory,  and  the 
anti-slavery  men  were  looked  upon  more  and  more  as  agi- 
tators, wicked  and  wanton.  In  New  York,  the  Free  Soil 
party  hardly  outlived  the  election  in  which  it  brought  about 
the  defeat  of  Cass,  for  in  1849  the  Barnburners,  still  under 
the  lead  of  John  Van  Buren,  formally  returned  into  the 
Democratic  fold.     The  new  organization  showed  more  vital- 


166  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  33. 

ity  in  Massachusetts,  but  even  there  it  fell  away  from  38,000 
votes  in  1848,  to  27,800  in  1850.  Though  the  third  party 
in  strength,  under  the  majority  rule  then  in  force  the  Free 
Soilers,  as  between  the  Whigs  and  Democrats,  held  the  bal- 
ance of  power ;  for,  though  the  Whigs  regularly  polled  a 
large  plurality  of  the  votes  cast  at  every  annual  election,  the 
Democrats  and  Free  Soilers  together  always  outnumbered 
them,  and,  after  thus  defeating  a  choice  at  the  polls,  could 
by  acting  in  concert  secure  a  majority  in  the  Legislature, 
upon  which  the  election  of  all  state  officers  then  devolved. 

The  Free  Soilers  were  the  advance  guard  of  the  coming 
Republican  party  and  they  were  men  of  principle  ;  but  even 
for  men  of  principle  it  is  hard  to  be  counted  year  after 
year  in  a  small  minority.  The  average  man  does  not  like  to 
go  on  forever  throwing  his  vote  for  candidates  who  he  knows 
cannot  be  elected.  If  the  party,  the  members  of  which  are 
called  on  to  do  this,  does  not  gravitate  towards  one  or  the 
other  of  the  larger  organizations,  the  individuals  who  com- 
pose it  almost  assuredly  will. 

Accordingly  two  counsels  soon  began  to  be  heard  in  the 
Free  Soil  ranks  ;  one  set  of  leaders  wanted  the  party  to  hold 
itself  high,  and  to  keep  clear  of  all  Democratic  contamina- 
tion ;  the  other  set  wanted  it  to  preserve  its  organization, 
but  to  cooperate  with  the  Democrats  in  order  to  defeat  the 
Whigs  and  get  some  share  of  the  fruits  of  victory.  The  old 
"  Conscience  Whigs  "  like  Charles  Allen,  Stephen  C.  Phil- 
lips, John  G.  Palfrey  and  C.  F.  Adams  contended  for  the 
former  course ;  while  Henry  Wilson,  with  the  understood 
support  of  Charles  Sumner,  was  the  recognized  exponent  of 
the  coalition  policy.  Wilson,  though  at  first  defeated,  finally 
carried  the  day,  and  his  victory  resulted  in  the  election  of 
Sumner  to  the  Senate  in  the  spring  of  1853,  —  the  United 
States  senatorship  having  been  traded  off  to  the  Free  Soil- 
ers in  exchange  for  the  state  offices,  which  the  Legislature 
filled  by  the  choice  of  the  nominees  of  the  Democratic  party. 
George  S.  Boutwell  was  made  governor. 


1849.  FREE   SOIL  POLITICS.  167 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  political  management  and 
office  mongering  of  this  sort  had  small  attraction  for  Dana. 
His  sympathies  were  wholly  with  the  better  elements  of  the 
party,  as  he  undoubtedly  would  have  called  those  who  op- 
posed entangling  alliances.  Whether  he  and  his  friends 
were  right  or  wrong  in  the  matter  was,  as  we  now  see,  of 
little  consequence.  It  was  but  a  phase,  and  a  passing  one, 
in  the  great  process  of  political  disintegration  and  reintegra- 
tion then  going  on,  and  which  was  not  to  result  in  anything 
definite  for  six  years  yet.  Meanwhile  the  Free  Soil  party 
was  to  pass  absolutely  away ;  not  slowly  absorbed,  as  Dana 
and  his  friends  apprehended,  in  the  Democracy,  but  sud- 
denly engulfed  in  that  "  Know-Nothing  "  frenzy  which  four 
years  later  was  destined  to  sweep  the  State,  making  clear 
the  way  for  the  Republican  organization  of  1856. 

Plymouth,  July  22.  Sunday.  At  church  in  the 
morning.  In  the  afternoon,  to  please  Mrs.  Hodge, 
went  to  the  Unitarian  meeting,  and  heard  Rev.  Mr. 
Briggs.  A  fervid  and  rather  well-written  essay, 
founded  entirely  on  natural  religion,  and,  excepting 
a  few  words,  with  nothing  that  would  have  surprised 
Seneca  or  Cicero  to  hear.  No  Scripture  was  read, 
two  vapid  hymns  sung,  and  something  in  the  nature 
of  a  prayer,  but  entirely  divested  of  the  Scriptural 
phraseology  which  used  to  dignify  the  Congregational 
prayers,  and  some  high-sounding  terms  of  transcen- 
dentalism put  in  their  place,  and  the  whole  rather 
addressed  to  the  audience  than  elsewhere.  There  is 
certainly  a  great  change  in  the  style  and  phraseology 
of  Unitarian  religious  exercises,  greater  than  the 
people  are  aware  of,  for  it  is  gradual  and  unnoticed 
from  day  to  day. 

August  11.  Took  saddle-horse  and  rode  down 
to  Quincy,  to  take  tea  with  Mr.  Quinoy.     Found  him 


168  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  34. 

at  home,  and  the  old  gentleman,  at  eighty-three,  took 
me  round  his  farm,  showed  me  his  forty  head  of  cat- 
tle in  his  barn,  his  twelve  acres  of  carrots,  and  his 
two  hundred  tons  of  hay.  He  has  an  excellent  farm, 
and  is  a  thoroughly  practical  farmer.  It  is  a  great 
solace  to  his  declining  years.  The  estate  has  been 
in  the  family  two  hundred  and  ten  years,  having  been 
purchased  of  the  Indians  by  a  direct  ancestor,  and 
from  him  descended  from  father  to  son  to  the  present 
time. 

At  tea,  Mr.  Quincy  told  me  anecdotes  of  his  early 
life,  and  particularly  of  John  Randolph,  about  whom 
we  happened  to  speak.  He  told  me  that  he  was  par- 
ticularly intimate  with  Randolph,  there  being  quite  a 
friendship  between  them.  But  Randolph  hated  New 
England.  Mr.  Quincy  invited  him  to  make  him  a 
visit.  "  Mr.  Quincy,"  said  he,  stretching  out  his  fin- 
ger, "so  help  me  God,  I  never  mean  to  cross  the 
Hudson  River.  But  if,  by  any  unfortunate  accident, 
I  happen  to  be  in  New  England,  your  house  is  the 
only  house  I  shall  enter." 

September  8.  Saturday.  Rode  on  horseback, 
beautiful  afternoon,  to  Mr.  Adams'  at  Quincy.  He 
occupies  the  old  house  in  which  his  father  and  grand- 
father lived  before  him,  —  a  venerable  old  low-roofed, 
big-timbered  house,  full  of  historical  associations.  In 
his  study,  where  he  is  writing  the  life  of  his  grand- 
father, that  grandfather  and  the  great  men  of  the 
Revolutionary  period,  and  his  father  and  the  chief  men 
of  the  next  two  generations,  have  lived,  written,  and 
talked.  Here  my  grandfather  and  great-grandfather 
(Ellery)  used  to  spend  many  days  of  every  summer, 
during  the  exciting  period  of  Adams'  administration. 

Mr.  Adams  talked  very  sensibly  about  Jefferson's 


1849.  FREE  SOIL  POLITICS.  169 

character,  and  is  satisfied  that  Jefferson  was  false  to 
his  grandfather  and  a  false  man  generally  where  his 
own  interests  were  concerned.  In  the  present  poli- 
tics of  our  own  state  Mr.  Adams  is  averse  to  making 
terms  with  either  party,  and  has  not  that  confidence 
that  the  "  instincts  of  the  Democracy "  are  on  our 
side  which  Sumner  has  —  neither  has  Palfrey.  They 
both  see  that  our  cause  addresses  itself  to  a  sense  of 
justice  and  national  honor,  rather  than  to  the  in- 
stincts of  personal  freedom  which  would  insure  the 
support  of  the  loco-foco  part  of  the  Democratic  party. 
September  16.  Sunday  evening.  I  took  tea  to- 
night with  President  Woods  at  Dr.  Salter's  and 
stayed  until  nine  o'clock,  when  I  walked  over  the 
bridge  with  father,  who  came  in  to  church,  and  it  is 
now  so  late,  with  my  new  habits  of  early  to  bed  and 
early  up,  that  I  must  finish  on  this  page.  The  Presi- 
dent wa3  very  agreeable,  and  talked  well  on  (1)  the 
style  of  the  French  philosophizing  historians  and 
politicians  of  the  present  day ;  (2)  the  popular  belief 
in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  as  assumed  in,  and  as 
the  essence  of,  the  popular  theology  of  Greece,  Rome 
and  the  East,  and  only  doubted  by  some  of  the 
philosophers,  and  in  the  Jewish  institutions  and 
popular  belief,  and  only  doubted  by  the  Sadducees ; 
(3)  on  the  Congregational  theory  as  to  ordination 
and  practice  as  distinguished  from  the  Presbyterian ; 
on  all  of  which  topics  he  talked  clearly  and  without 
being  in  extremes ;  also  on  the  state's  sustaining  in- 
tellectual without  religious  education. 

Shortly  after  writing  the  above  to  his  wife,  Dana  had 
occasion  to  visit  New  York,  and  the  following  diary  entry 
refers  to  what  he  there  did  and  those  whom  he  saw. 


170  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  M. 

New  York,  September  26.  Wednesday.  Spent 
first  few  hours  down  town.  Called  on  Daniel  Lord, 
who  received  me  most  cordially,  on  Evarts  who  was 
out,  Win.  Russell,  ditto.  Called  on  Bigelow  at  the 
office  of  the  "  Evening  Post,"  who  tried  to  explain 
the  recent  union  of  the  Barnburners  and  Hunkers  to 
my  satisfaction,  but  without  success.  There  are  two 
reasons  for  it,  —  one,  that  no  party  can  be  sustained 
in  New  York  without  a  fair  prospect  of  immediate 
success,  for  one  year ;  and  the  other,  that  the  Demo- 
cratic party  is  the  ruling  notion  with  them,  and  sla- 
very is  subordinate.  Called  on  Mr.  Ripley,  whom  I 
found  in  the  fourth  story  of  a  huge,  dirty  building, 
attained  by  winding,  narrow,  dirty  stairs,  amid  the 
whizzing  and  clanking  of  steam  machinery,  sitting  in 
his  shirt  sleeves,  paragraphing  and  clipping  for  the 
"  Tribune."  Nowhere  is  the  contrast  between  cir- 
cumstances and  influence  greater  than  in  the  office  of 
an  editor  in  New  York.  Wielding  an  influence  which 
hardly  has  its  superior  in  the  republic,  the  editors  of 
the  leading  journals  still  write  in  their  little  closets, 
in  fourth  stories,  on  pine  tables,  amid  noise,  dirt  and 
confusion. 

Returning  immediately  to  Boston,  the  two  next  extracts 
are  from  letters  to  Mrs.  Dana,  while  those  which  follow, 
and  complete  the  narrative,  are  from  the  diary. 

October  1.  Saturday  I  went  to  the  shore  and 
spent  Sunday  with  the  Ticknors.  It  was  delightful. 
The  house  and  grounds  look  so  much  better,  the 
bank  is  grown  over,  the  hills  and  bank  covered  with 
asters,  golden-rod,  bright  red  vines,  barberries,  and 
the  woods  alive  with  the  maple  leaves  !  And  the 
charming  damp  air  of  the  ocean  poured  round  all. 


1849.  FREE   SOIL   POLITICS.  171 

I  took  several  walks  alone,  and  one  down  the 
avenue  with  the  family.  Sunday  afternoon  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Dexter,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crawford  (the 
sculptor),  drove  up  and  spent  an  hour.  Mrs.  Craw- 
ford is  a  perfectly  fascinating  woman.  I  don't  know 
a  woman  anywhere  (except  one)  who  can  compare 
with  her. 

October  7.  Sunday.  I  am  writing  you  for  almost 
the  first  time  this  season  from  my  secretary  in  my 
own  room.  This  gloomy  day  after  going  to  church 
(and  communion)  in  the  morning,  I  came  home 
and  made  a  fire  in  my  own  chamber  to  spend  the 
afternoon.  After  going  out  to  dine,  walking  round 
the  Common,  among  the  fallen  leaves  and  broken 
branches,  with  a  northeast  wind  and  rain  too  heavy 
for  an  umbrella  to  live,  I  have  come  back  and  read 
two  cantos  of  Fairy  Queen,  and  am  writing  to  my 
dear  wife,  my  Florimel  and  Britomart. 

Thursday  I  am  to  dine  with  Mr.  Palfrey  to  meet 
C.  F.  Adams  and  Sumner.  I  presume  it  is  to  be  a 
council  of  war  on  the  present  state  of  the  Free  Soil 
party.  If  any  one  asks  you  what  I  think  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  Barnburners,  you  may  say  that  I  think 
they  have  been  guilty  of  desertion  of  their  principles 
and  bad  faith  to  their  allies. 

11.  Dined  at  Dr.  Palfrey's  with  Sumner,  Dr.  S.  G. 
Howe,  Dr.  Estes  Howe.  Discussed  the  propriety  of 
a  joint  ticket  with  Democrats.  Dr.  Palfrey  and  I 
opposed  it.  Sumner  and  Dr.  E.  Howe  favored  it,  Dr. 
S.  G.  Howe  doubtful.  I  was  more  earnest  than  any 
of  them,  and  told  them  it  would  take  the  virtue  out 
of  our  party.  They  said  it  would  elect  Dr.  Palfrey; 
I  thought  not.  I  told  them  his  strength  was  not  that 
of  organization,  but  arose  from  his  commending  him- 


172  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  34. 

self  to  the  moral  sense  of  the  people,  which  this  union 
would  impair.  Dr.  Palfrey  was  opposed  to  it,  but 
said  he  should  not  interfere,  but  would  be  neither  a 
motive  nor  an  obstacle  to  the  plan. 

November  8.  Refused  to  take  part  in  the  Faneuil 
Hall  caucus  if  John  Van  Buren  spoke,  not  from  any 
personal  objection,  but  because  it  was  favoring  the 
Democratic  party.  If  they  would  invite  a  Free  Soil 
Whig  from  New  York  as  well  as  a  Free  Soil  Demo- 
crat  I  would  agree  to  it.  I  thought  it  was  impor- 
tant to  preserve  entire  neutrality  —  seeing  a  strong 
disposition  to  democratize  our  party. 

9.  John  Van  Buren  called  to  be  introduced.  Spent 
an  hour  or  more  at  my  office.  He  was  very  agree- 
able. A  fine  example  of  gentleman  of  the  rowdy 
school,  a  Newmarket  noble.  There  is  something 
quite  taking  about  him.  He  did  not  succeed  in  satis- 
fying me  as  to  the  New  York  coalition,  nor  did  Mr. 
Bigelow,  who  called  to  see  me  with  Sumner  and 
talked  Rousseau  democracy. 

1850.  February  27.  This  day  the  Free  Soil  Con- 
vention was  held  at  Faneuil  Hall,  to  sustain  the  Wil- 
mot  Proviso.  At  a  previous  meeting  it  had  been 
agreed  that  I  should  write  the  report  and  resolutions. 
It  was  my  idea  that  they  should  be  addressed  directly 
to  the  members  of  Congress  themselves,  and  this 
suggestion  was  adopted  by  the  committee.  I  read 
my  report  to  a  committee  consisting  of  C.  F.  Adams, 
Dr.  Palfrey,  Sumner,  Hopkins,  Wm.  Jackson  and 
others.  On  the  morning  of  this  day  I  read  it  to 
Samuel  Hoar  and  S.  C.  Phillips.  All  these  gentle- 
men expressed  themselves  highly  gratified  and  very 
few  changes  were  made,  those  immaterial.  It  was 
well  received  by  the  convention. 


1850.  FREE   SOIL   POLITICS.  173 

The  convention  was  highly  respectable  both  in 
numbers  and  character,  and  deep  feeling  seemed  to 
pervade  it.  The  report  of  its  doings  is  in  the  "  Re- 
publican "  of  this  week. 

March  12.  Stephen  C.  Phillips  called  at  my  office 
and  at  my  request  related  to  me  the  history  of  Mr. 
Webster's  course  as  to  the  admission  of  Texas.  He 
told  the  story  calmly  and  deliberately. 

He  had  been  in  Washington  and  knew  the  course 
of  measures  planned  by  the  Tyler  Administration  to 
secure  the  annexation  of  Texas.  He  came  home 
much  troubled  and  alarmed.  He  knew  the  greater 
part  of  the  northern  Democracy  would  sustain  the 
measure,  and  that  the  only  hope  was  from  the  Whigs. 
Judge  Allen  happened  to  be  in  Salem,  and  Mr.  Phil- 
lips sent  for  him,  and  the  whole  matter  was  talked 
over.  They  agreed  that  a  movement  must  be  made 
in  time,  and  first  of  all  that  Webster  should  be  seen. 
Webster  had  left  Tyler's  Cabinet  and  was  out  of  office, 
and  rather  out  of  favor  with  the  Whig  leaders  in  the 
State  for  having  stayed  so  long  by  Tyler,  but  without 
doubt  supported  by  the  people.  Mr.  Phillips  had 
been  his  warm  and  somewhat  confidential  friend. 
He  called  upon  him  at  his  lodgings  at  the  Tremont 
House  and  laid  the  matter  before  him.  He  found 
Webster  fully  and  deeply  interested.  Webster  ex- 
pressed his  great  gratification  to  find  the  movement 
begun,  and  advised  that  a  convention  be  called  at 
Faneuil  Hall,  and  an  address  prepared  to  the  people, 
as  the  first  step  toward  rousing  the  North.  Mr. 
Phillips  reminded  him  that  it  was  an  important 
movement,  on  which  the  political  fate  of  themselves 
and  the  party  might  hang,  and  that  they  must  be 
assured  of  his  support.     Mr.  Phillips  says  he  never 


174  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  34. 

shall  forget  Webster's  reply :  "  If  there  is  any  influ- 
ence in  the  name  of  Daniel  Webster,  as  some  persons 
have  said  there  is,  you  shall  have  it  all.  By  this  head 
and  this  heart  (suiting  the  action  to  the  word),  if 
there  is  any  strength  in  this  old  arm,  it  is  all  devoted 
to  your  cause  !  " 

Mr.  Phillips  then  wrote  the  call  for  the  conven- 
tion, which  Mr.  Webster  revised  and  gave  his  ap- 
proval to,  and  it  was  taken  round  for  signatures. 
Then  they  found  that  a  certain  number  of  leading 
WThigs,  represented  by  Abbott  Lawrence  and  Nathan 
Appleton,  since  called  the  "  Cotton  Whigs,"  were 
indifferent  to  the  subject  and  averse  to  any  action. 
Their  general  motives  were  well  known  or  shrewdly 
suspected  ;  with  some  of  them  there  was  an  addi- 
tional special  motive,  of  unwillingness  to  cooperate 
with  Webster  in  a  movement  that  might  redound  to 
his  credit.  Mr.  Phillips  says  that  Mr.  Lawrence,  on 
giving  his  final  refusal,  said,  "  No,  sir.  We  will  not 
help  Daniel  Webster  to  right  himself  by  this  Texas 
movement."  At  the  same  time,  Mr.  Webster's  New 
York  friends  hearing  of  this  movement  became 
alarmed  and  wrote  to  Webster,  begging  him  not  to 
commit  himself  and  the  Whig  party  of  New  England 
to  it ;  that  it  would  alienate  the  South  and  seal  the 
alliance  between  the  South  and  the  northern  Democ- 
racy ;  that  the  leading  Whigs  of  Boston  would  not 
stand  by  him,  and  that  there  was  not  sufficient  anti- 
Texas  feeling  in  the  North  to  be  the  basis  of  his 
political  action. 

These  letters  and  the  coldness  of  the  Cotton 
Whigs  evidently  deterred  Mr.  Webster,  and  when  he 
was  called  upon  to  sign  the  call  for  the  convention, 
he  held  back.    Judge  [Charles]  Allen,  with  his  char- 


1850.  FREE   SOIL  POLITICS.  175 

acteristic  intrepidity,  put  Webster's  name  to  it,  and 
told  him  it  should  be  published,  and  he  might  take 
it  back,  if  he  dared.  It  was  thus  only  that  Webster's 
name  appeared. 

As  the  time  drew  nigh  for  the  convention,  they 
found  Mr.  Webster  more  and  more  reserved  and 
backward.  It  was  only  by  absolutely  dogging  and 
dunning  him  that  they  got  him  at  work  upon  the 
address,  on  Monday,  two  days  before  the  convention. 
The  address  was  written  in  Webster's  office,  he  dic- 
tating and  Mr.  Phillips  and  Judge  Allen  writing. 
He  divided  the  objections  into  heads,  and  took  them 
up  separately,  leaving  slavery  to  the  last.  When  he 
came  to  this  head  he  paused  and  became  very  sol- 
emn, and  told  them  frankly  he  did  not  know  what  to 
do.  He  stated  the  position  of  this  question,  the  state 
of  parties,  the  division  among  the  Whigs,  etc.,  and 
went  no  farther.  Here  he  broke  down.  All  they 
could  get  from  him  was  a  promise  to  consider  it  and 
to  meet  them  Tuesday  afternoon.  On  Tuesday  after- 
noon they  received  a  note  from  him  saying  that  a 
case  in  which  he  was  engaged  obliged  him  to  be  in 
New  York  the  next  day,  that  he  left  that  afternoon, 
that  the  business  was  in  excellent  hands,  which  could 
manage  far  better  than  he  could,  wished  them  God 
speed,  etc. 

This  was  the  last  they  heard  from  him  on  this  sub- 
ject. Mr.  Phillips  says  he  has  met  him  often  since, 
that  Webster  has  been  very  cordial  and  pleasant,  but 
that  the  subject  of  Texas  never  has  been  alluded  to 
between  them.  Disheartened  and  vexed,  these  men, 
on  the  night  before  the  convention,  had  to  finish  the 
address  and  carry  off  the  dead  weight  of  the  deserted 
convention,  and  fill  up  the  chasm  left  by  his  absence. 


176  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.ZS. 

Now  he  claims  the  credit,  in  his  speech  of  March 
7,  of  having  endeavored  to  rouse  the  people,  and  lays 
all  the  blame  on  "  certain  leading  Whigs  of  Boston." 
And  though  he  has  had  the  grace  not  to  say  any- 
thing against  the  u  Conscience  Whigs,"  yet  he  has 
never  had  the  magnanimity  to  acknowledge  or  give 
one  word  of  commendation  to  the  fidelity  and  bold- 
ness of  those  men  whom  he  promised  to  sustain,  and 
who  went  nobly  but  unsuccessfully  on,  with  the 
work. 

September  1.  A  meeting  of  the  leading  members 
of  the  Free  Soil  party  was  held  at  the  Adams  House 
to  consider  the  expediency  of  uniting  with  the  Demo- 
crats in  the  state  elections.  There  is  little  doubt  the 
ultimate  plan  is  a  complete  union.  The  measure 
was  advocated  by  Governor  Morton,  General  Wilson, 
Earle  and  Colonel  [De  Witt]  from  Worcester,  and 
by  William  Jackson,  Alley  and  Dr.  Swan  of  the 
Liberty  party.  It  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Hoar  (sen- 
ior), Dr.  Palfrey,  Adams,  Phillips  and  myself,  and 
was  lost  without  a  count.  I  told  them  that  whether 
adopted  or  not  I  would  not  do  it. 

1851.  January  20.  Monday.  Left  at  2.30  P.  M. 
for  New  York. 

21.  Tuesday.  Called  on  Evarts  who  invited  me 
to  dine  at  Delmonico's  next  day  at  three  o'clock:. 
Discussed  the  Fugitive  Slave  Bill  rather  warmly. 
He  defends  the  act  and  the  compromise  on  which  it 
is  founded,  and  Webster's  course,  and  thinks  Web- 
ster is  to  be  the  next  president,  in  each  particular  of 
which  I  disagreed  with  him. 

22.  Wednesday.  After  breakfast  walked  down 
town.  Called  on  C.  W.  Spaulding,  a  witness  in 
Ford  v.  King,  twice,  but  he  was  out ;  on  Judge  Kent, 


1851.  FREE  SOIL  POLITICS.  177 

who  received  me  with  attention,  we  holding  a  long 
converse  on  Sumner  and  Boston  politics  and  social 
life.  He  is  an  out  and  out  Whig  Hunker,  but  had 
to  endure  a  good  deal  of  Free  Soil  from  me.  He 
admitted  the  attempt  of  Mr.  Ticknor,  the  Eliots  and 
others  to  ostracize  Sumner,  and  thought  it  unwise 
and  unfair.  Called  on  Henry  Nicoll,  who  talked 
politics,  Democratic,  and  railed  at  the  corruptions 
in  the  United  States  offices,  in  the  way  of  fees 
and  extortions,  and  the  circumventing  of  statutes. 
At  "  Tribune "  office  I  found  Mr.  Ripley,  Greeley, 
C.  A.  Dana  and  Bayard  Taylor,  all  at  work  at  their 
separate  tables.  This  is  the  great  enginery  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  steam-engines  in  every  part  of 
the  huge  building,  and  four  editors  at  humble  tables 
with  pen  and  scissors  in  hand,  preparing  for  100,000 
readers  and  more ;  with  telegraphic  dispatches  every 
hour  from  all  parts  of  the  Union.  Was  introduced 
to  Greeley.     Think  him  coarse  and  cunning. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  FUGITIVE    SLAVE  CASES  OF   1851. 

The  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  passed  in  the  summer  of  1850, 
was  now  in  full  operation.  No  seizure  under  its  provisions 
had  been  attempted  in  Massachusetts,  though  numbers  of 
such  seizures  had  been  made  elsewhere  and  many  colored 
people  returned  into  slavery.  There  was  and  always  had 
been  a  considerable  negro  population  in  Boston,  living  to- 
gether on  the  north  side  of  Beacon  Hill,  and  among  them 
it  was  well  known  were  many  escaped  slaves.  Before  the 
passage  of  the  Act  of  1850  these  people  had  considered 
themselves  absolutely  safe,  and  so  indeed  they  were ;  but 
after  the  passage  of  the  act  they  were  so  no  longer.  It  was 
true  there  was  no  probability  that  any  considerable  number 
of  fugitives  would  ever  be  seized  in  Boston,  for  Massachu- 
setts was  not  a  border-state,  and  the  feeling  there  among  a 
large  portion  of  the  people  was  so  intense  that  the  capture 
of  a  runaway  negro  implied  the  possession  of  very  consider- 
able nerve  on  the  part  of  the  captor,  and,  from  a  money  point 
of  view,  could  hardly  be  expected  to  prove  remunerative. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  well  understood  that  it  had  be- 
come a  matter  of  pride  in  the  South  to  have  a  slave  seized 
in  Boston  and  taken  back  from  Massachusetts.  Boston  was 
the  home  of  Garrison,  and  Massachusetts  was  the  hot-bed  of 
abolitionism.  A  great  deal  had  been  heard  of  the  love  for 
the  Union  and  the  devotion  to  the  constitution  which  existed 
there,  but  these  protestations  had  not  been  put  to  the  test; 
it  was  high  time  to  put  them  to  the  test  and  see  what  they 
amounted  to.  It  was  notorious  that  public  meetings  had 
been  held  in  Boston,  and  even  in  Faneuil  Hall,  at  which  pas- 


1851.  THE  FUGITIVE  SLAVE   CASES.  179 

sionate  resolves  had  been  passed  declaring  that,  "  law  or  no 
law,  not  a  slave  should  be  taken  back  from  Massachusetts." 
It  remained  to  be  seen  whether  the  solemn  act  of  Congress 
or  the  resolve  of  the  political  gathering  was  law  in  the 
State. 

Accordingly  all  through  the  autumn  and  early  winter  of 
1850-51  there  was  a  vague  general  impression  abroad  that 
an  attempt  at  seizure  would  be  made,  and  great  uneasiness 
pervaded  the  negro  community  on  Beacon  Hill.  As  day 
after  day  passed  and  nothing  occurred,  this  sense  of  appre- 
hension in  some  degree  subsided,  and  fugitives  who  had 
sought  shelter  in  Canada  ventured  to  return.  But  the  popu- 
lar impression  was  right.  The  law  was  to  be  vindicated  ;  a 
fugitive  was  to  be  taken  back  to  slavery  from  Massachusetts 
soil. 

The  following  record  of  his  part  in  the  first  of  these  his- 
toric episodes  was  made  by  Dana  at  the  time,  and,  telling 
its  own  story,  stands  in  need  of  no  explanatory  introduc- 
tion. It  relates  to  the  arrest  and  rescue  of  Shadrach  alias 
Frederick  Jenkins.  Dana's  office  at  that  time  was  at  30 
Court  Street,  and  directly  opposite  the  court-house,  the  side 
entrance  to  which  his  windows  overlooked. 

February  15.  Saturday,  While  in  my  office  at 
about  10.30  A.  M.,  Charles  Davis,  Parker,  and  others 
came  in  and  told  me  that  the  marshal  had  a  fugitive 
slave  in  custody,  in  the  United  States  court  room  be- 
fore Mr.  George  T.  Curtis  as  commissioner.  I  went 
immediately  over  to  the  court-house.  Mr.  Curtis 
was  on  the  bench,  actually  occupying  the  judge's 
seat ;  Pat.  Rile}-,  the  deputy  marshal,  with  his  two 
regular  deputies  and  two  constables,  sworn  in  as  spe- 
cial deputies,  were  in  charge  of  the  room ;  a  good- 
looking  black  fellow,  sitting  between  the  two  subs, 
was  the  arrested  fugitive.  The  arrest  had  been  so 
sudden  and  unexpected  that  few  knew  it,  and  it  was 


180  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  My.  35. 

half  an  hour  before  the  crowd  assembled,  but  it  was 
increasing  every  minute,  and  there  was  great  excite- 
ment. I  went  to  the  marshal's  office  and  prepared 
a  writ  of  de  homine  replegiando  and  a  petition  for 
a  habeas  corpus  addressed  to  Chief  Justice  Shaw. 
Robert  Morris  obtained  verbal  authority  from  the 
prisoner  to  make  the  petition,  in  presence  of  Ellis  G. 
Loring,  and  signed  and  swore  to  the  petition  before 
me.  The  petition  stated  that  one  Frederick  Jen- 
kins, of  Boston,  laborer,  was  imprisoned  in  the  court- 
house by  Patrick  Riley,  that  the  pretence  was  that 
he  was  a  fugitive  from  service  and  labor,  and  that 
the  petitioner  did  not  know  whether  there  was  a 
warrant  or  not.  With  this  petition  I  called  on  the 
Chief  Justice,  and  stated  to  him  that  it  was  a  case  of 
an  alleged  fugitive  slave,  and  that  our  object  was  to 
test  the  constitutional  power  of  the  commissioner  to 
issue  a  warrant.  The  Chief  Justice  read  the  petition, 
and  said  in  a  most  ungracious  manner,  "  This  won't 
do.  I  can't  do  anything  on  this,"  and  laid  it  upon 
the  table,  and  turned  away  to  engage  in  something 
else.  (This  interview  was  in  the  lobby  of  the  su- 
preme court  room.)  I  asked  him  to  be  so  good  as 
to  tell  me  what  the  defects  were,  saying  that  I  had 
taken  pains  to  conform  to  the  statute.  He  seemed 
unwilling  to  notice  it,  and  desirous  of  getting  rid  of 
it;  in  short,  he  attempted  to  bluff  me  off.  On  my 
persisting  he  stated,  as  an  objection,  that  it  was  not 
signed  by  the  man  himself.  I  reminded  him  that 
the  statute  permitted  the  petition  to  be  made  by  the 
party  imprisoned,  "or  by  some  one  in  his  behalf." 
(He  must  also  have  known  that  in  the  worst  cases, 
where  the  writ  is  most  needed,  a  prisoner  cannot 
sign  the  petition  himself.     Sometimes  even  the  place 


1851.  THE  FUGITIVE   SLAVE   CASES.  181 

of  bis  imprisonment  is  unknown.)  He  replied, 
44  There  is  no  evidence  that  it  is  in  his  behalf. 
There  is  no  evidence  of  his  authority."  I  asked, 
"  Do  you  require  proof  of  authority  ?  What  proof 
do  you  require,  sir  ?  "  He  replied,  "  It  is  enough  for 
me  to  say  that  the  petition  is  not  sufficient."  He 
then  added,  "  The  petition  shows  on  its  face  that  the 
writ  cannot  issue.  It  shows  that  the  man  is  in  legal 
custody  of  a  United  States  marshal."  I  replied 
that  the  petition  did  not  refer  to  any  officer,  but  only 
gave  Mr.  Riley's  name,  and  that  the  fact  of  legal  cus- 
tody must  appear  on  the  return.  To  this  he  replied, 
44  But  Mr.  Riley  is  known  to  be  an  officer;  and  be- 
sides, the  petitioner  cannot  properly  swear  that  he 
does  not  know  on  what  pretence  the  man  is  held." 
I  called  his  honor's  attention  to  the  petition,  and 
showed  him  that  the  petition  stated  the  pretence 
fully  and  truly.  He  read  the  petition  over  again, 
and  finding  this  to  be  so,  he  fell  back  on  his  first 
objection,  want  of  evidence  of  authority  from  the 
prisoner,  and  added  (which  was  his  last  objection, 
and  not  made  until  after  he  had  positively  refused  to 
issue  the  writ),  that  the  petition  should  contain  a 
copy  of  the  warrant,  or  state  that  a  copy  had  been 
applied  for  and  could  not  be  had ;  this,  too,  although 
the  petition  stated  that  the  petitioner  did  not  know 
whether  the  imprisonment  was  under  a  warrant  or 
not,  which  was  true,  as  arrests  may  be  made  under 
the  Act  of  1850  without  a  warrant.  I  felt  that  all 
these  objections  were  frivolous  and  invalid,  but  see- 
ing the  temper  which  the  Chief  Justice  was  in,  and 
his  evident  determination  to  get  rid  of  the  petition,  I 
left  him  for  the  purpose  of  either  procuring  the  evi- 
dence he  required,  or  of  going  before  another  judge. 


182  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  35. 

On  reaching  the  court-room,  I  found  that  the  com- 
missioner was  just  adjourning  the  court  to  Tuesday, 
at  ten  A.  M.  As  this  gave  us  an  abundance  of  time, 
we  determined  to  consult  upon  the  matter  in  the 
afternoon,  and  no  further  proceedings  were  had  on 
the  subject  of  the  habeas  corpus. 

The  prisoner  remained  in  his  seat,  between  two 
constables,  and  Pat.  Riley  was  making  the  most 
absurd  exhibition  of  pomposity  in  ordering  people 
about,  and  clearing  the  court-room,  and  Mr.  Curtis, 
dressed  in  a  little  brief  authority,  was  swelling  into 
the  dignity  of  an  arbiter  of  life  and  death,  with  a 
pomposity  as  ludicrous  as  that  of  Riley.  At  the 
order  of  the  marshal  all  left  the  court-room  quietly, 
except  the  officers  and  counsel,  and  when  I  left  there 
were  none  else  in  the  room,  and  the  crowd  in  the  en- 
tries and  stairways  and  outside,  though  large  and 
chiefly  negroes,  was  perfectly  peaceable. 

I  returned  to  my  office  and  was  planning  with 
a  friend  the  probable  next  proceedings,  when  we 
heard  a  shout  from  the  court-house,  continued  into 
a  yell  of  triumph,  and  in  an  instant  after  down  the 
steps  came  two  huge  negroes  bearing  the  prisoner 
between  them  with  his  clothes  half  torn  off,  and  so 
stupefied  by  the  sudden  rescue  and  the  violence  of  his 
dragging  off  that  he  sat  almost  dumb,  and  I  thought 
had  fainted;  but  the  men  seized  him,  and  being 
powerful  fellows  hurried  him  through  the  square  into 
Court  Street,  where  he  found  the  use  of  his  feet,  and 
they  went  off  toward  Cambridge,  like  a  black  squall, 
the  crowd  driving  along  with  them  and  cheering  as 
they  went.  It  was  all  done  in  an  instant,  too  quick  to 
be  believed,  and  so  successful  was  it  that  not  only  was 
no  negro  arrested,  but  no  attempt  was  made  at  pursuit. 


1851.  THE  FUGITIVE  SLAVE   CASES.  183 

The  sympathy  of  the  masses  was  with  the  success- 
ful rescue,  though  here  and  there  was  an  old  hunker, 
or  a  young  dandy,  or  would-be-chivalry-man,  who  ex- 
pressed anger  at  the  failure  of  the  "  Peace  Measures." 

It  seems  that  none  of  the  officers  were  injured,  ex- 
cept by  being  crowded  into  corners  and  held  fast,  and 
the  sword  of  justice  which  Mr.  Riley  had  displayed 
on  his  desk  was  carried  off  by  an  old  negro. 

How  can  any  right-minded  man  do  else  than  re- 
joice at  the  rescue  of  a  man  from  the  hopeless,  end- 
less slavery  to  which  a  recovered  fugitive  is  always 
doomed.  If  the  law  were  constitutional,  which  I 
firmly  believe  it  is  not,  it  would  be  the  duty  of  a  citi- 
zen not  to  resist  it  by  force,  unless  he  was  prepared 
for  revolution  and  civil  war ;  but  we  rejoice  in  the 
escape  of  a  victim  of  an  unjust  law,  as  we  would  in 
the  escape  of  an  ill-treated  captive  deer  or  bird. 

The  conduct  of  the  Chief  Justice,  his  evident  dis- 
inclination to  act,  the  frivolous  nature  of  his  objec- 
tions, and  his  insulting  manner  to  me,  have  troubled 
me  more  than  any  other  manifestation.  It  shows 
how  deeply  seated,  so  as  to  affect,  unconsciously  I 
doubt  not,  good  men  like  him,  is  this  selfish  hunker- 
ism  of  the  property  interest  on  the  slave  question. 

Sumner  thought  he  had  better  not  appear  as  coun- 
sel in  the  case  and  did  not  go  in.  His  reason,  which 
he  gave  me  frankly,  was,  the  effect  it  might  have  on  the 
pending  senatorial  election.1  He  thought  the  conven- 
tions of  parties  and  the  delicate  state  of  affairs  at  the 
State  House  required  him  to  withhold  any  public 
action.  This  is  the  reason  (though  I  did  not  see  it 
at  the  time)  why  he  declined  going  to  New  York  to 
argue  the  case  of  Henry  Long. 

1  That  in  which  Mr.  Sumner  was  first  chosen  to  the  United  States 
Senate.     See  p.  195. 


184  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  35. 

February  23.  Judge  Metcalf  was  present  at  my 
interview  with  Judge  Shaw,  and  expressed  himself 
very  much  disturbed  by  the  conduct  of  the  chief. 
He  seldom  speaks,  but  in  this  case  he  spoke  freely. 

March  23.  Sunday.  The  last  week  Sumner  and 
I  have  been  drawing  up  laws  to  meet  the  dangers  and 
outrages  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Bill,  at  the  request 
of  the  committee  of  the  legislature.  We  propose  an 
act  the  first  section  of  which  extends  the  Latimer 
Law  (1848)  to  the  Fugitive  Slave  Bill  of  1850.  The 
two  next  sections  are  my  invention.  They  prohibit, 
under  a  penalty,  any  officer  or  member  of  the  volun- 
teer militia  of  Massachusetts  from  acting,  in  that 
capacity,  under  the  direction  of  the  United  States 
marshal,  under  the  Act  of  1850,  under  color,  or  pre- 
tence of  being  part  of  the  posse  eomitatus  ;  and  to  dis- 
band all  companies  of  the  volunteer  militia  who  shall 
so  act  in  their  organized  capacity.  I  cannot  doubt 
the  constitutionality  of  these  provisions.  We  are  not 
obliged  to  furnish  our  organizations,  arms  and  equip- 
ments, our  discipline,  our  paid  soldiers,  to  the  marshal 
to  enforce  the  slave  law.  As  individuals,  they  are 
members  of  the  posse  eomitatus,  but  not  as  officers 
and  privates  of  volunteer  associations.  And  if  con- 
stitutional, our  duty  to  prohibit  it  is  clear. 

The  next  section,  prohibiting  the  claimant  of  a 
slave  from  having  counsel,  is  Sumner's.  I  advised 
against  it,  as  ungracious,  as  small  legislation.  It  has 
an  odious  look  and  will  answer  little  purpose.  The 
last  two  sections  require  the  district  attorneys  to  de- 
fend all  inhabitants  claimed  as  fugitive  slaves.  These 
will  have  little  practical  effect.  If  left  to  me,  I  should 
report  only  the  first  three. 

Another   bill  we   also   recommend,  the   credit   of 


1851.  THE  FUGITIVE  SLAVE   CASES.  185 

which  belongs  to  George  Minot.  It  treats  every  per- 
son as  a  criminal  who  removes  or  endeavors  to  re- 
move, or  aids  or  abets  in  an  attempt  to  remove  from 
the  state,  as  a  fugitive  slave,  any  person  who  is  not  a 
fugitive  slave,  and  makes  a  legal  presumption  that  the 
party  claimed  is  free.  This  looked  to  us  both  as  a 
well-devised  statute. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  diary  relate  to  the  famous 
Sims  case,  which,  as  will  presently  be  seen,  led  to  the  elec- 
tion of  Charles  Sumner  to  the  United  States  Senate.  As  a 
record  these  extracts  are  complete  in  themselves. 

April  7.  The  last  week  our  city  has  been  the 
scene  of  a  degrading  fugitive  slave  case.  A  man  was 
arrested  by  the  marshal  and  his  posse,  suddenly,  at  a 
hotel  in  which  he  was  a  waiter,  and  locked  up  in  the 
court-house,  which  was  guarded  by  a  huge  force  of 
policemen  and  a  chain  stretched  entirely  around  it, 
so  that  every  one  who  entered  it,  except  at  the  far- 
ther door,  must  go  under  the  chain.  This  was  Thurs- 
day night.  Friday  morning,  Mr.  George  T.  Curtis 
held  his  court,1  and  Charles  G.  Loring  and  Robert 
Rantoui  appeared  as  counsel.  Colonel  S.  J.  Thomas 
appeared  for  the  Southern  claimants.  More  despica- 
ble wretches  in  appearance  than  the  Southern  agents 
I  never  beheld  —  cruel,  low-bred,  dissolute,  degraded 
beings  !  No  man's  life  or  property  would  be  safe  a 
moment  in  their  hands.  Mr.  Sewall  applied  to  the 
supreme  court  for  a  habeas  corpus,  and  it  was  re- 
fused without  argument.  Mr.  Sewall,  after  it  was 
refused,  asked  leave  to  address  the  court  in  favor  of 
the  petition,  and  was  refused. 

In  the  course  of  Saturday  and  Sunday  a  number  of 

1  Mr.  Curtis  in  this,  as  in  the  Shadrach  case,  was  the  United  States 
commissioner  before  whom  the  alleged  fugitive  was  carried. 


186  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  U. 

gentlemen  spoke  privately  to  the  judges,  among 
others,  Mr.  Loring  and  Franklin  Dexter,  and  an  inti- 
mation was  obtained  that  they  would  hear  an  argu- 
ment. 

Accordingly,  this  morning  (Monday,  April  7), 
Mr.  Rantoul  and  I  went  into  court  and  moved  again 
for  the  writ  and  were  heard.  I  was  called  in  sud- 
denly and  was  not  prepared  for  more  than  an  open- 
ing. Mr.  Rantoul  had  been  prepared  and  made  a 
very  striking  and  forcible  argument,  considered  as  a 
speech  to  the  people,  or  as  a  piece  of  abstract  reason- 
ing, but  not  one  calculated  to  meet  the  difficulties  in 
the  minds  of  the  court.  The  Chief  Justice  was  evi- 
dently timid,  and  tried  to  evade  a  decision  of  many 
points.  I  compelled  him  to  decide  that  the  petitioner 
was  not  entitled  to  the  writ  as  of  right,  but  that  it 
was  addressed  to  the  discretion  of  the  court.  The 
petition  set  forth  the  "  pretence  "  under  which  the 
petitioner  was  held  to  be  a  certain  warrant,  and  an- 
nexed a  copy  as  required  by  the  statute.  The  court, 
assuming  the  warrant  to  be  valid  and  legal,  and  the 
parties  to  be  entitled  to  act,  refused  to  issue  the  writ, 
and  required  us  to  satisfy  them  of  the  unconstitution- 
ality of  the  warrant  before  they  will  issue  the  writ. 

At  three  P.  M.  Judge  Shaw  delivered  the  opinion 
of  the  court  refusing  the  writ.  The  grounds  of  the 
opinion  are  these :  A  conflict  between  the  state  and 
national  courts  is  to  be  avoided.  The  national  courts 
have  power  to  issue  writs  of  habeas  corpus.  The 
more  expedient  course  is  to  resort  to  them  when  the 
act  of  their  own  officers  is  concerned,  although  the 
state  courts  will  act  in  extreme  cases.  This  is  not  a 
clear  case.  The  only  question  is  whether  the  com- 
missioner can  constitutionally  act.     The  Act  of  1793 


1851.  THE  FUGITIVE   SLAVE   CASES.  187 

gave  the  same  powers  to  magistrates  which  this  act 
gives  to  commissioners,  and  was  acquiesced  in  more 
than  fifty  years,  and  recognized,  or  at  least  was  not 
decided  to  be  unconstitutional  by  any  court.  The 
point  must  be  considered  as  settled  by  lapse  of  time, 
acquiescence  and  recognition.     The  writ  was  refused. 

A  writ  de  homine  replegiando  was  sued  out  and 
put  in  the  hands  of  a  sheriff.  He  demanded  the  man 
and  was  refused  by  the  marshal.  As  yet  the  precept 
has  not  been  served.  A  criminal  complaint  was  also 
made  against  the  prisoner  for  stabbing  one  of  the  offi- 
cers who  arrested  him.  The  marshals  refused  to  de- 
liver up  the  man  on  this  precept  ;  and  this  precept 
is  not  served.  I  do  not  believe  there  is  moral  power 
enough  on  the  side  of  the  state  in  opposition  to  the 
national  government  in  Boston  to  enable  the  sheriff 
to  serve  a  criminal  process. 

April  13.  Sunday.  I  will  endeavor  to  give  a  cor- 
rect account  of  the  occurrences  of  the  last  eventful 
week. 

The  sheriff  had  placed  in  his  hands  a  writ  de  ho- 
mine replegiando  and  a  criminal  warrant  against 
Sims  the  fugitive  for  stabbing  Butman,  the  man  who 
arrested  him,  with  order  to  serve  the  first  writ,  and 
if  that  was  resisted  to  serve  the  warrant.  He  was 
advised  that  the  commissioner's  warrant,  under  which 
the  marshal  held  Sims,  being  only  a  civil  process, 
must  yield  to  the  criminal  process  of  the  state.  The 
sheriff  demanded  Sims  of  the  marshal  on  the  writ, 
and  was  positively  refused  and  told  that  if  an  attempt 
should  be  made  to  take  him,  force  would  be  used  to 
resist.  As  to  the  criminal  process,  the  marshal  said 
he  had  doubts,  and  asked  for  twenty-four  hours  to 
take  advice,  which  the  sheriff  allowed  him.     At  the 


188  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  35. 

end  of  twenty-four  hours  the  sheriff  applied  again  to 
the  marshal,  and  was  told  that  so  far  as  holding 
under  the  Fugitive  Slave  Act  was  concerned,  he 
probably  would  have  given  him  up,  but  that  he  also 
held  him  under  a  warrant  for  a  crime  against  the 
United  States.  At  our  request,  Mr.  Loring  (Charles 
G.)  called  on  the  marshal  and  asked  him  who  issued 
the  warrant  and  when.  The  marshal  replied  that  it 
was  issued  on  Monday  morning  by  B.  F.  Halle tt. 
Mr.  Loring  then  asked  Hallett  what  the  warrant  was 
for,  but  Hallett  declined  answering.  Loring  said 
that  he  feared  the  warrant  was  a  mere  trick.  Hallett 
replied  that  if  it  was  so,  it  was  to  counteract  a  trick. 
By  my  advice  Mr.  Sewall  demanded  of  the  mar- 
shal a  copy  of  the  warrant  and  return.  This  was  on 
Wednesday.  In  the  afternoon  a  copy  of  the  warrant 
was  furnished.  It  bore  date  Monday,  and  had  no  re- 
turn upon  it.  Early  Thursday  morning  (it  being 
Fast  Day)  Sewall  obtained  a  petition  from  Sims  for 
a  habeas  corpus,  addressed  to  Judge  Sprague,  set- 
ting forth  that  he  had  been  held  for  three  days  under 
a  criminal  warrant,  without  being  brought  before  a 
magistrate  to  be  examined,  and  also  that  the  warrant 
was  void.  The  defect  in  the  warrant  was  that  it  did 
not  allege  that  Butman  was  an  officer  of  the  United 
States,  or  that  he  was  serving  a  process  of  the  United 
States,  at  the  time  he  was  stabbed  by  Sims.  Judge 
Sprague  refused  to  grant  the  writ.  The  grounds  of 
the  refusal,  as  stated  to  me  by  Sumner  and  Sewall, 
who  were  present,  and  confirmed  by  the  clerk,  were 
that  inasmuch  as  Sims  was  held  on  one  process  which 
was  legal,  he  suffered  no  illegal  detention  because 
there  was  also  another  process,  the  legality  of  which 
was  contested.     The  counsel  cited  to  him  a  case  from 


1851.  THE  FUGITIVE  SLAVE   CASES.  189 

Co  wen's  Reports,  to  the  effect  that  where  a  party 
held  under  one  process  is  also  served  and  held  by  a 
different  process,  he  may  test  the  legality  of  the  lat- 
ter by  a  habeas  corpus.  Sewall  ought  to  have  asked 
him  how  he  could  know  judicially  that  Sims  was 
held  under  a  prior  process  until  it  should  be  disclosed 
by  the  return  of  the  writ,  for  the  petition  made  no 
reference  to  it. 

Coming  into  town  in  the  afternoon,  I  found  the 
gentlemen  in  consultation.  It  was  finally  resolved 
that  Sumner  and  I  should  go  before  Judge  Woodbury 
with  the  same  petition,  accompanied  with  an  affidavit 
from  Sewall  that  the  marshal  told  him  that  he  con- 
sidered Sims  as  held  under  the  warrant  from  the  time 
it  was  put  in  his  hands,  and  another  affidavit  from 
Sims  himself,  of  his  never  having  been  informed  of 
the  arrest  or  taken  before  a  magistrate  to  be  exam- 
ined or  bailed.  We  found  Judge  Woodbury  at  his 
rooms  at  the  Tremont  House,  and  after  a  long  consul- 
tation, during  which  I  made  three  journeys  to  my 
office  and  the  Law  Library  for  books,  to  satisfy  the 
judge  that  he  could  issue  the  writ  at  chambers  in 
term  time,  and  which  lasted  until  seven  o'clock,  he 
agreed  to  open  his  court  at  eight  o'clock  P.  M.  Ac- 
cordingly at  eight  o'clock  P.  M.  the  United  States 
circuit  court  room  was  opened,  and  we  presented  our 
petition.  The  marshal  sent  off  for  Messrs.  Choate 
and  B.  R.  Curtis,  who  soon  arrived  in  carriages.  I 
opened  the  case  by  citing  authorities  to  show  that 
the  habeas  corpus  is  a  writ  of  right,  except  in  certain 
cases,  of  which  this  was  not  one,  and  demanded  the 
writ  as  of  right.  If  not  of  right,  the  fact  that  the 
prisoner  had  been  held  nearly  four  days  without  hav- 
ing been  brought  before  a  magistrate  was  evidence 


190  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  35. 

of  illegal  holding,  and  also  contended  that  the  war- 
rant set  forth  no  crime.  Sumner  followed  with  ad- 
ditional points  and  authorities.  We  both  denounced 
the  warrant  and  arrest  as  mere  tricks. 

Woodbury  gave  a  short  opinion,  acknowledging 
that  he  could  not  know  judicially  that  Sims  was  held 
under  another  precept,  and  that  the  holding  under 
the  warrant  was  prima  facie  illegal,  and  required  ex- 
planation, and  issued  the  writ  returnable  before  him 
forthwith.  At  ten  P.  M.  the  return,  drawn  up  by 
Curtis  (with  aid,  I  presume,  from  Choate),  was  sub- 
mitted. After  about  half  an  hour's  argument  on 
motion  for  delay,  the  judge  adjourned  to  Friday  at 
three  P.  M.  It  happened,  most  unfortunately  and  pro- 
vokingly  for  me,  that  the  Charlestown  Flats  case,  in 
which  I  am  engaged,  and  in  which  there  is  a  great 
interest  involved,  and  many  witnesses  and  parties, 
had  been  specially  assigned  for  Friday,  before  a  com- 
mittee of  the  legislature.  It  was  to  take  all  day  and 
there  was  no  escape  from  it.  I  had  to  give  up  my 
connection  with  the  habeas  corpus,  in  which  my 
heart  and  pride  and  best  feelings  were  engaged,  and 
take  to  the  Flats  case,  which  was  a  matter  of  mere 
pecuniary  speculation.  It  was  mortifying  to  see  how 
absorbed  the  petitioners  were  in  their  mud  scheme, 
coming  to  my  office  and  talking  over  the  square  feet 
and  the  lines,  without  so  much  as  looking  out  of  the 
window  or  asking  a  question  about  the  case  of  the 
poor  slave,  so  touching  to  humanity,  so  great  as  a 
question  of  constitutional  and  political  law.  All  day 
I  was  employed  in  this  case,  and  at  night  learned 
that  Judge  Woodbury  had,  as  we  feared,  remanded 
the  prisoner.  He  did  not  think  the  delay,  under  the 
circumstances,  so  unreasonable  as  to  justify  him  in 


1851.  THE  FUGITIVE   SLAVE   CASES.  191 

releasing  the  prisoner ;  but  said  that  the  marshal 
ought  to  return  the  warrant,  in  good  faith,  as  soon 
as  he  conveniently  could.  Our  friends  say  that  the 
judge  made  a  mere  political  clap-trap  speech,  in- 
tended for  the  Southern  market.  Mr.  Sewall  then 
presented  a  writ  de  homine  replegiando  in  behalf  of 
Sims  as  a  citizen  of  Georgia  against  the  marshal,  and 
asked  the  judge  to  appoint  an  officer  to  serve  it. 
Thereupon,  Colonel  Thomas,  attorney  for  Sims's 
master,  objected  to  Sewall's  authority  to  act  for 
Sims,  on  the  ground  that  as  Sims  had  been  in  the 
mean  time  remanded  into  the  custody  of  his  master 
by  Mr.  Commissioner  Curtis,  and  the  relation  of 
master  and  slave  established,  the  slave  could  not 
appoint  an  attorney,  and  claimed  the  exclusive  right 
to  appear  for  Sims.  Judge  Woodbury  sustained  this 
claim,  which,  of  course,  put  an  end  to  all  further 
proceedings. 

The  other  proceedings  of  the  week  have  been 
these  :  On  Monday  and  Tuesday,  Mr.  Loring  and  Mr. 
Rantoul  argued  the  case  of  Sims  before  Curtis,  and 
Colonel  Thomas  replied  in  behalf  of  the  master. 
Tuesday  P.  M.  Curtis  adjourned  the  court  till  Fri- 
day, to  give  himself  time  to  write  out  his  opinion  on 
the  constitutional  question.  Friday  morning  he  de- 
livered his  opinion,  sustaining  his  jurisdiction,  and 
granting  the  certificate  to  the  owner's  agent.  On  the 
affidavit,  he  also  directed  the  marshal  to  escort  the 
prisoner  to  Georgia. 

Another  attempt  was  made  to  induce  the  sheriff  to 
serve  the  criminal  process,  with  offers  of  any  force  he 
might  need  for  a  posse  comitatus^  and  bonds  of  in- 
demnit}',  with  assurances  that  the  holding  under  the 
warrant  could  not  be  justified.     But  the  sheriff's  in- 


192  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.95. 

clinations  were  all  the  other  way,  and  his  prejudices, 
and  he  let  slip  the  opportunity.  Had  he  been  in 
earnest  to  serve  the  process,  it  might  have  been  done. 
But  the  truth  is,  there  is  not  moral  force  enough  in 
Boston  on  the  side  of  the  slave  to  sustain  the  laws  of 
the  state  in  his  favor.  The  national  power,  sustained 
by  the  interest  of  politicians,  traders  and  manufactur- 
ers, overpowers  the  authority  of  the  state  courts. 

Judge  Shaw  actually  went  under  the  chain  to  get 
to  his  court.  Judge  Wells  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  refused  to  do  this,  and  a  place  was  made  for 
him.  I  have  never  been  under  it.  I  either  jump 
over  it  or  go  round  to  the  end,  and  have  the  rope  re- 
moved, which  they  have  at  last  graciously  substituted 
for  the  last  few  links  of  the  chain. 

The  Senate  has  taken  up  this  matter  and  ap- 
pointed a  committee  of  investigation,  which  has  been 
in  session  the  last  week.  Their  examinations  show 
conclusively  that  the  arrest  and  detention  have  been 
made  chiefly  by  the  city  police  force,  and  that  no  per- 
sons have  been  permitted  to  enter  the  court-house,  in 
which  the  Supreme  and  Common  Pleas  courts  were 
both  in  session,  except  counsel,  parties,  jurors,  etc., 
unless  by  a  written  permit  of  the  United  States  mar- 
shal, while  the  law  requires  the  state  courts  to  be 
open.  If  our  people  bear  these  indignities  and  as- 
sumptions of  power  over  their  rights  and  privileges, 
instead  of  being  slave-catchers  they  ought  to  be 
slaves  themselves. 

Poor  Sims  was  confined  in  a  small  room  with  one 
half  window  in  the  third  story  of  the  court-room,  on 
the  west  side.  The  window  was  barred,  and  from  my 
office  I  could  see  him  looking  through  the  grates  of 
his   prison.     Our  temple  of   justice  is  a  slave-pen  ! 


1851  THE  FUGITIVE  SLAVE   CASES.  193 

Our  officers  are  slave-hunters,  and  the  voice  of  the 
old  law  of  the  state  is  hushed  and  awed  into  silence 
before  this  fearful  slave-power  which  has  got  such 
entire  control  of  the  Union. 

Saturday  morning  between  four  and  five  o'clock 
the  poor  fellow,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  was  marched 
on  board  a  vessel,  escorted  by  a  hundred  or  more  of 
the  city  police  under  orders  of  the  United  States 
marshal,  armed  with  swords  and  pistols,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  she  sailed  down  the  harbor. 

A  convention  of  all  persons  opposed  to  the  Fugi- 
tive Slave  Bill,  called  a  fortnight  ago,  met  at  Tremont 
Temple  on  Tuesday.  It  was  a  most  enthusiastic, 
excited,  earnest  meeting.  The  only  difficulty  was  in 
keeping  the  people  within  bounds.  A  large  portion 
of  the  company  were  bent  on  a  rescue,  but  all  the 
leading  men  were  "  law  and  order  "  men,  and  moder- 
ate counsels  prevailed.  Horace  Mann  presided.  Ex- 
cellent letters  were  read  from  Seward  and  Charles 
Francis  Adams,  and  speeches  made  by  Mann,  Pal- 
frey and  others.  The  election  of  Allen,  the  gain  for 
Palfrey,  and  the  increased  loss  of  Upham  were  cheer- 
ing intelligence.1  At  one  time  it  was  rumored  that 
the  sheriff  was  about  to  serve  the  warrant,  and  it  is 
said  that  a  thousand  men  prepared  to  go  to  the  death 
for  the  state  law  were  eager  to  offer  themselves  for 
his  posse. 

It  seems  that  Sims  was  brought  in  a  vessel  to  Bos- 
ton without  the  master's  knowledge  and  being  dis- 

1  Special  elections  held  in  two  of  the  congressional  districts  of  the 
state,  in  which  at  the  previous  elections  no  candidate  had  received  a 
a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast.  Judge  Charles  Allen  was  the  suc- 
cessful Free  Soil  candidate  in  the  Worcester  district ;  Dr.  Palfrey  and 
Mr.  Upham  were  the  Free  Soil  and  the  Whig  candidates  in  the  Mid- 
dlesex district. 


194  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  35. 

covered  on  board,  when  inside  the  light,  was  mal- 
treated and  confined  in  the  cabin  by  the  master  and 
mate,  with  the  knowledge  of  the  owner  (J.  H.  Pier- 
son),  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  him-  back  into  slav- 
ery, against  the  clear  law  of  our  commonwealth.  Yet 
all  attempts  to  arrest  either  the  master  or  mate  have 
proved  futile,  on  account  of  the  connivance  of  the 
owners  at  their  escape. 

Sims  was  carried  back  to  Savannah  and  subsequently 
sold.  Charles  Devens,  afterwards  Attorney  General  of  the 
United  States  in  the  administration  of  Hayes,  and  a  judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts,  was  United  States 
marshal  for  the  district  of  Massachusetts  at  the  time  of  the 
rendition,  and  as  such  responsible  for  the  execution  of  the 
law.  Though  he  performed  the  duty  thus  imposed  upon 
him,  he  naturally  disliked  it,  and  thereafter  felt  himself 
under  a  sort  of  moral  obligation  towards  Sims ;  and  when 
in  1853,  on  the  incoming  of  the  Pierce  administration,  he 
ceased  to  be  marshal,  he  made,  through  the  Rev.  A.  L. 
Grimes,  the  colored  clergyman  in  Boston,  more  than  one 
ineffectual  effort  to  buy  the  returned  fugitive  and  liberate 
him.  Mrs.  Lydia  Maria  Child  made  a  similar  unavailing 
effort  at  a  later  period,  General  Devens  offering  again  to 
supply  the  full  amount  supposed  to  be  necessary  to  effect 
the  purchase,  some  $1,800.  After  the  breaking  out  of  the 
rebellion,  Sims,  who  had  then  been  carried  to  Tennessee,  ef- 
fected his  escape  and  got  within  the  Union  lines,  returning 
finally  to  Boston.  Here  he  was  aided  by  Mrs.  Child,  Gen- 
eral Devens  and  others,  but  finally  went  back  to  Tennessee. 
After  Judge  Devens  became  Attorney  General,  in  1877, 
Sims  appeared  in  Washington  and  put  in  his  claim  for  a 
place.  He  was  made  a  messenger  in  the  Department  of 
Justice,  and  held  the  position  for  several  years,  being  re- 
moved from  it  in  the  Arthur  administration.  He  is  now 
(1889)  living  in  Washington,  and  is  a  bricklayer  by  trade. 


1851.  THE  FUGITIVE  SLAVE   CASES.  195 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Mr.  Dana  ever  came  in  contact 
with  him  again,  although  it  would  seem  probable  the  two 
must  have  met  after  the  latter  found  his  way  back,  a  free- 
man through  the  war  power,  to  the  scene  of  his  former  ren- 
dition to  servitude. 

April  24.  This  day,  on  the  twenty-fourth  ballot, 
Charles  Sumner  was  elected  United  States  Senator. 
It  was  matter  of  great  rejoicing  to  us,  to  be  sure. 
At  night  a  procession  formed  in  State  Street  and 
went  to  Sumner's  bouse,  but  he  had  purposely  left 
town.  Thence  they  went  to  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
who  made  them  a  speech,  thence  to  my  father's, 
thinking  that  I  lived  there,  and  called  me  out.  My 
father  went  to  the  door  and  told  them  that  I  was  at 
Cambridge.  They  then  gave  three  cheers  for  the 
old  gentleman  !  "  Three  cheers  for  R.  H.  Dana, 
Senior  !  "  .  .  .  One  hundred  guns  were  fired  on  the 
Common,  at  noon  (26th),  and  the  news  was  re- 
ceived in  various  parts  of  New  England  with  ringing 
of  bells  and  firing  of  cannon. 

June  1.  The  M  Rescue  Cases,"  for  the  trial  of  Scott 
et  ah.,  concerned  in  rescuing  Shadrach,  came  on  last 
week,  beginning  with  Tuesday,  May  27.  Jas.  Scott 
is  the  first  man  tried.  John  P.  Hale  is  senior  with 
me  for  the  defence.  What  I  have  seen  of  Hale  has 
pleased  me.  He  has  strong  sense,  quickness,  fair- 
ness and  a  habit  of  thinking  over  cases  and  points, 
with  a  good  memory,  although  not  a  book  man  nor 
fond  of  mere  learning.  He  is  an  excellent  compan- 
ion, unobtrusive  and  sociable.  There  is  a  queer  mix- 
ture of  the  natural  gentleman  and  the  rough  country 
trader  or  farmer  about  him.  He  is  a  man  of  good 
birth  and  education,  but  wasted  his  youth  and  was 
saved  by  an  excellent  wife. 


196  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  35. 

June  8.  The  last  week  has  been  spent  in  the  trial 
of  Scott  for  aiding  in  the  rescue  of  the  fugitive  slave 
Shadrach.  The  case  was  given  to  the  jury  at  12.30 
P.  M.  of  Thursday.  At  5.30  P.  M.  they  were  called 
into  court  and  reported  that  they  could  not  agree 
and  that  there  was  no  prospect  of  their  agreeing. 
Judge  Sprague  ordered  them  out  again,  and  kept 
them  out  until  9.30  A.  M.  of  Friday,  being  twenty- 
one  hours.  Being  still  unable  to  agree,  they  were 
discharged.  They  stood  six  to  six.  This  was  a  tri- 
umph for  us,  as  the  Government  exerted  its  utmost 
efforts  to  secure  a  verdict.  Judge  Sprague  gave  an 
elaborate  charge  on  the  law,  sustaining  the  constitu- 
tionality of  the  Act  of  1850.  On  the  facts,  I  am 
constrained  to  say  that  his  charge  was  ex  yarte  and 
excited.  His  eye  flashed,  his  gestures  were  vehe- 
ment and  his  whole  soul  was  in  the  maintenance  of 
the  law,  urging  it  upon  the  jury  with  the  zeal  of  an 
advocate  or  a  party.  In  commenting  on  the  evi- 
dence, he  repeated  with  emphasis  all  the  reasons 
given  by  the  United  'States  attorney  for  believing 
the  Government  testimony  and  disbelieving  ours, 
adding  many  suggestions  of  his  own  to  the  same 
effect,  while  he  did  not  notice  one  of  our  suggestions 
or  make  one  of  his  own  in  favor  of  our  testimony 
or  against  that  of  the  Government.  In  fact,  I  am 
satisfied  that  Judge  Sprague  considers  himself  placed 
on  the  bench  to  preserve  the  balance  of  the  machine, 
and  if  he  thinks  that  the  jury,  or  public  opinion,  or  the 
weight  of  counsel  inclines  the  scale  toward  the  pris- 
oner, he  must  retain  the  equilibrium  by  inclining  as 
far  the  other  way  himself.  This  is  an  error.  He  must 
preserve  the  neutrality  of  the  bench  at  all  events 
and   keep  other  parties  in    their  places  if   he   can. 


1851.  THE  FUGITIVE   SLAVE   CASES.  197 

There  is  a  little  too  much  of  the  old  politician  about 
him  to  make  him  a  clear  judge  in  political  causes, 
where  the  interests  of  his  party  and  political  friends 
are  at  stake.  He  is  a  man  of  a  remarkably  clear 
mind,  penetrating  and  sagacious,  equitable  and  firm. 
In  fact,  I  have  for  ten  years  found  him  the  model 
of  a  judge.  But  in  these  causes  he  has  shown  too 
much  feeling  and  excitement,  and  has  argued  the 
case  for  the  Government. 

After  this  jury  was  dismissed,  an  attempt  was  made 
to  impanel  another  jury.  Three  of  these  jurors  an- 
swered that  they  could  not  conscientiously  find  a  man 
guilty  under  this  law,  and  were  excused.  The  Gov- 
ernment asked  the  court  to  question  the  jury  whether 
they  had  expressed  or  formed  opinions,  or  had  any 
bias  in  the  case.  The  court  ordered  the  questions  to 
be  put.  One  juror  was  asked  if  he  had  formed  an 
opinion,  etc.  He  answered  that  he  had,  and  was  ex- 
cused. We  suggested  that  lie  did  not  rightly  under- 
stand the  question,  and  asked  to  have  it  explained. 
We  suggested  that  he  might  think  the  questions  re- 
ferred to  an  opinion  as  to  the  entire  transaction,  while 
it  only  referred  to  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  Lewis 
Hayden.  The  judge  recalled  him,  and  explained  to 
him  that  the  question  related  to  the  guilt  or  innocence 
of  the  prisoner.  The  juror  then  replied  that  he  had 
not  formed  an  opinion.  Mr.  Lunt  interposed  and 
said  that  the  juror  might  have  formed  an  opinion  as 
to  the  acts  of  other  parties.  The  judge  put  the  ques- 
tion whether  he  had  formed  opinions  as  to  the  acts  of 
other  parties.     I  interposed  :  — 

Dana.  I  hope  the  court  understands  that  we  do 
not  wish  the  question  put. 

Court.  I  do  understand  that  you  wish  it  put. 
You  asked  to  have  the  original  question  explained. 


198  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  35. 

Dana.  We  did  so  ;  but  this  is  not  an  explana- 
tion, please  your  honor.  The  question  has  been  ex- 
plained, and  the  juror  has  answered.  This  question 
came  from  the  Government. 

Court.  It  is  a  different  question,  I  see.  Mr. 
Clerk  put  the  next  question. 

The  venire  being  exhausted,  the  court  adjourned 
to  Monday. 

The  "Courier"  of  Monday,  2d  inst.,  contains  a 
column  and  a  half  of  attack  upon  me  for  my  Worces- 
ter speech,  calling  upon  me  to  answer  Mr.  Haven 
and  others.  And  the  "  Advertiser  "  of  the  same  day 
has  two  articles  on  me ;  one,  signed  « the  son  of  a 
merchant,"  calls  on  all  the  merchants  to  withdraw 
their  business  from  me,  and  to  proclaim  non-inter- 
course. I  shall  not  reply  now,  happen  what  will, 
and  am  glad  that  I  did  not  reply.  This  is  a  mere 
political  move  and  arises  from  a  desire  to  injure  the 
reputation  of  their  opponents.  The}^  do  not  desire 
either  to  elicit  the  truth  or  to  do  justice. 

June  15.  All  this  week  engaged  in  trying  the 
case  of  Lewis  Hayden  for  rescue  of  Shadrach.  Hale 
has  argued  it  nobly,  with  great  skill  in  feeling  the 
jury,  and  with  passages  of  true  eloquence. 

17.  Tuesday.  The  trial  of  Morris  was  broken  off, 
after  the  Government  had  put  in  half  its  evidence, 
on  account  of  a  juryman,  D.  B.  Walker,  who  was 
objected  to  as  biased  on  newly  discovered  testimony. 
He  had  been  put  on  his  voir  dire  and  sworn  it,  but 
the  court  against  our  objections  allowed  evidence  of 
things  said  by  him  some  time  ago  respecting  the  Fu- 
gitive Slave  Law  and  other  kindred  matters,  to  show 
bias  and  prejudice,  and  set  him  aside.  Before  swear- 
ing in  the  new  juror,  the  court,  without  our  consent, 


1851.  THE   FUGITIVE  SLAVE   CASES.  199 

continued  the  case  to  the  next  term.  Query.  If 
the  setting  aside  of  Walker  was  illegal,  is  not  Mor- 
ris discharged? 

New  York,  June  27.  Friday.  After  dinner  I  went 
over  to  Hoboken  and  spent  about  two  hours  in  a 
beautiful  walk  up  and  down  the  banks  of  the  Hudson, 
from  the  Elysian  Fields  to  Otto  Cottage.  I  never 
saw  a  view  in  my  life  to  surpass  this  for  beauty  and 
interest.  You  wander  in  the  woods,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson,  under  the  shade  of  the  noble  trees, 
with  the  great  city  stretched  along  for  miles  before 
you,  its  hum  of  trade  and  work  just  audible  across 
the  still,  broad  river  at  your  feet ;  the  shutting  in 
of  the  Highlands  visible  up  the  river,  and  down  the 
river  the  opening  to  the  ocean  at  the  Narrows  ;  the 
whole  scene  enlivened  by  countless  sails,  pleasure 
boats  and  vessels  of  burden,  with  every  few  minutes 
a  huge  steamer  darting  out  with  a  scream  and  deep- 
drawn  breathing  from  the  slips  of  the  city. 

July  15.  This  day  was  the  anniversary  of  the 
Story  Association.  Choate  delivered  the  oration.  It 
was  generally  understood  the  afternoon  before  that 
he  was  preparing  something  on  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  and  against  the  Free  Soil  party.  Sumner  told 
me  so  and  would  not  go.  I  begged  him  to  go  to  the 
dinner,  and  told  him  that  it  anything  was  said 
against  us  we  would  make  fight.     But  he  declined. 

As  I  went  up  the  platform,  Choate  shook  hands, 
and  said,  "  I  am  sorry  jon  are  coming.  I  shall  have 
to  offend  you.  You  had  better  reconsider."  And 
sure  enough,  the  oration  was  a  defence  of  the  ad- 
ministration policy  as  to  slavery,  and  an  attack  on 
the  Free  Soil  party  and  principle.  The  plan  was  to 
prove   that   the   preservation  of  the  Union,  in   the 


200  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  35. 

scale  of  an  enlightened  morality,  was  a  greater  and 
higher  virtue  than  that  which  refused  to  surrender 
a  fugitive  slave,  assuming  of  course,  that  the  two 
could  not  coexist.  It  was  an  improper  and  inap- 
propriate thing,  and  I  think  generally  felt  to  be  so. 
This  was  an  occasion  when  all  party  questions  were 
to  be  excluded  and  the  graduates  of  the  school  to 
meet  as  brothers  on  common  ground  to  be  addressed 
on  some  subject  of  common  interest.  President 
Quincy  and  Mr.  Hoar  were  the  two  oldest  men  pres- 
ent, both  Free  Soilers,  and  a  striking  commentary  on 
the  contemptuous  manner  in  which  Choate  spoke  of 
the  youthful  enthusiasm  and  inexperience  of  the  Free 
Soil  party.  Neither  of  these  gentlemen  attended  the 
dinner. 

At  the  dinner  there  was  nothing  offensive,  except 
the  speech  of  General  Carpenter  of  Rhode  Island, 
who  spoke  of  "  that  miserable,  conceited,  fanatical 
faction,"  etc.  In  my  remarks  I  alluded  to  this  in  a 
pleasant  way,  but  so  that  they  should  feel  it.  Mr. 
Story,  in  returning  thanks  for  his  father's  memory, 
spoke  of  introducing  "  a  regard  for  liberty  in  law, 
and  conscience  into  legislation."  Judge  Hoar's  toast 
was  also  to  the  point,  about  love  of  liberty,  reverence 
for  law  and  fear  of  God.  On  the  whole,  they  had 
the  disgrace  of  making  an  ill-mannered  attack,  and 
we  rather  had  the  last  word. 

July  17.  Thursday.  Phi  Beta.  ...  At  the  din- 
ner President  Quincy  was  first  called  up,  and  re- 
ceived, all  standing.  He  pronounced  a  feeling  eulogy 
on  Judge  Story  as  the  real  founder  of  the  Law 
School,  and  concluded  by  saying  that  he  had  been 
forced  into  this  by  an  occurrence  of  a  recent  date  — 
that  he  had  attended  the  exercises  of  the  Stor}'  As- 


1851.  THE  FUGITIVE  SLAVE   CASES.  201 

sociation,  and  with  deep  regret  heard  an  oration  of 
which  he  would  say  nothing  except  that  it  had  not 
one  word  about  Joseph  Story,  or  the  Law  School,  or 
Mr.  Dane. 

Mr.  Story  in  replying  gave  "  Josiah   Quincy,  al- 
ways true  to  liberty,  virtue  and  friendship." 


CHAPTER  XL 

VACATION    RAMBLES.  —  A    MOOSE-HUNT. 

August  1.  Friday.  Reached  Cherryfield  at  12.30, 
midnight,  poor  lodgings,  early  breakfast  and  ride  to 
Bangor  via  Ellsworth.  The  chief  characteristic  of 
the  country  all  the  way  from  the  British  provinces 
to  Bangor  is  that  the  farm-houses,  small,  thin,  frail- 
looking  shells,  are  all  placed  on  the  tops  of  hills, 
where  every  wind  can  rake  them,  with  all  the  trees 
cut  down  in  every  direction,  and  not  the  relief  of  a 
tree,  a  shrub  or  a  vine.  Most  disconsolate  and  cheer- 
less objects  they  are.  Not  one  attractive  farm-house 
have  I  seen  yet.  Where  it  is  so  easy  to  put  the 
house  in  a  snug  corner  or  on  a  slope,  and  to  leave  a 
grove  of  trees  on  the  windy  and  exposed  side  of  the 
house,  to  plant  a  vine  that  may  climb  over  the  door, 
—  but  no,  there  seems  to  be  an  inherent  tastelessness 
in  the  common  New  England  man,  a  deadness  to 
grace  or  beauty  in  every  form,  which  nothing  but  the 
cultivation  and  example  of  ages  can  correct. 

August  6.  Wednesday.  Engaged  Rowell,  the 
hunter,  to  take  me  moose  hunting,  as  I  was  deter- 
mined to  kill  a  moose,  if  possible,  before  1  left.  Be- 
fore dinner  I  went  down  with  him  a  few  miles  in  his 
birch  canoe  to  look  after  his  bear-trap.  We  landed 
and  went  through  the  woods  a  half  mile  or  so,  and 
came  to  a  small  inclosure  made  of  boughs  with  an 
opening  on  one  side,  and  in  the  midst  a  large  piece  of 


1851.  A  MOOSE  HUNT.  203 

moose's  carcass.  At  the  opening  was  a  bear-trap, 
covered  with  leaves,  which  Rowell  took  up.  It  was 
a  cruel  looking  implement,  and  sprung  with  a  fearful 
clash.  He  was  going  to  remove  it  to  a  place  above 
Kineo. 

After  dinner  at  about  four  o'clock  set  off  on  our 
moose  hunt.  We  went  out  in  Rowell's  little  birch 
with  a  gun  apiece,  loaded,  a  bucket  containing  some 
bread  and  meat  for  two  meals,  our  thick  coats,  an 
axe  and  some  pieces  of  rope.  We  paddled  across  the 
lake  about  five  miles  to  the  upper  outlet  into  the 
Kennebec.  This  is  the  small  outlet,  the  main  outlet 
being  several  miles  below.  The  outlet  is  narrow, 
with  wThat  people  call  "quick  water,"  that  is,  "  rap- 
ids," which  we  shot  through,  Rowell  carefully  and 
skilfully  steering  between  the  rocks  and  shallows 
and  stumps,  into  a  wide  outspread  which  they  call  a 
"  pond,"  then  through  quick  water  again  into  another 
long  pond,  at  the  end  of  which  is  a  dam  built  by  the 
lumbermen,  over  which  the  waters  of  the  lake  pour 
into  a  small  branch  of  the  Kennebec.  Around  these 
ponds  are  patches  of  grass-grown  ground,  partly  cov- 
ered by  water,  muddy  and  swampy,  whicli  they  call 
"  Poke-logans,"  into  which  the  moose  come  to  lie 
down  and  wallow. 

We  floated  slowly  along  the  banks  of  these  streams 
and  ponds  under  the  shade  of  the  overhanging  forest 
amid  the  solitude  of  nature,  with  no  human  habita- 
tion within  miles  of  us,  in  perfect  silence,  hardly 
daring  to  move  in  our  canoe,  watching  with  eyes  and 
ears  for  the  sound  or  sight  of  a  moose.  Twice  Rowell 
landed  and  was  gone  some  ten  or  twent}'  minutes  to 
examine  the  tracks  and  marks,  and  returned  with 
news  that   there   must   be   at  least  one  moose  near 


204  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr,  36. 

the  lower  pond.  Just  before  sundown  we  landed 
and  ate  our  plain  supper,  and  when  the  sun  was 
down  put  off  again,  paddling  slowly  up  and  down  the 
stream,  stopping  to  listen,  and  rounding  the  points 
and  corners  in  profound  silence,  not  even  the  splash 
of  paddle  being  heard,  in  harmony  with  the  falling 
of  the  night  shadows  on  this  romantic  scene.  The 
sunset  was  clear  and  beautiful,  and  the  moon  in  the 
mid-heavens  grew  into  light  as  the  sun  faded  out. 
Then  came  the  northern  lights  shooting  up  their 
spears  into  the  dark  sky,  and  the  long-drawn,  plain- 
tive, musical  cry  of  the  loon,  unsurpassed  for  poetic 
effect  by  that  of  any  seabird,  echoed  back  and  to 
and  fro  among  the  hills.  I  sat  in  the  bow  with  my 
gun  by  my  side  ready  for  instant  action,  and  Rowell 
laid  his  across  the  boat  to  fire  in  case  I  missed,  and 
guided  the  boat  with  his  paddle.  In  this  way,  in 
entire  silence,  we  floated  about  from  sundown  until 
the  moon  set,  which  was  a  little  after  midnight. 
The  only  sign  of  a  moose  was  the  heavy  step,  and 
breaking  and  cracking  of  branches  as  one  of  those 
huge  creatures  passed  along  near  the  shore  on  our 
left.  We  followed  him  slowly  on  the  other  side,  but 
we  heard  no  more  of  him.  The  moon  being  down 
it  was  too  dark  for  a  further  hunt,  and  we  drew  our 
canoe  in  under  the  lee  of  a  bank,  and  wrapping  our 
coats  about  us  laid  down  in  the  bottom,  drawn  up 
in  narrow  compass,  to  sleep  until  the  dawn  of  day. 
The  black  flies  had  been  very  thick  and  troublesome 
in  the  afternoon  and  the  mosquitoes  in  the  evening, 
but  it  was  a  cold  night  and  we  were  no  longer 
troubled  with  them,  although  our  sleep  was  a  little 
interrupted  by  the  chilliness  of  the  air.  I  soon,  how- 
ever, fell  asleep,  and  was  dreaming  of  reading  a  con- 


1851.  A    MOOSE   HUNT.  205 

troversy  in  the  "  Daily  Advertiser "  between  Mr. 
Ticknor  and  the  trustees  of  the  Athenaeum,  in  which 
the  trustees  said  that  Mr.  Ticknor  complained,  when 
he  had  in  fact  control  of  the  committee  through  his 
family  connections,  to  which  Mr.  Ticknor  replied 
tartly  with  some  intimation  of  political  influence,  — 
when  Rowell  touched  me  and  said  it  was  time  to  be 
stirring.  Raising  myself  in  the  boat,  I  found  that 
streaks  of  daybreak  were  out  in  the  east  and  the 
birds  beginning  their  notes. 

Without  a  word  spoken  we  dropped  down  the 
stream  to  the  second  pond,  and  round  its  shores  and 
up  again,  without  hearing  the  least  sound  of  a  moose, 
and  were  floating  down  again,  when  Rowell  whis- 
pered, "  There  's  a  moose,  right  ahead !  "  Just  then 
we  heard  a  breaking  through  the  branches  and  leaves, 
and  he  disappeared  before  I  got  a  sight  of  him.  We 
were  too  far  off  for  a  shot.  We  paddled  silently  and 
slowly  down,  ears  and  eyes  attent,  when  we  both  heard 
a  sound  again  a  little  above  us.  As  quick  as 
thought  the  canoe's  head  was  turned  round  in  that 
direction  and  I  held  my  gun  in  hand.  Again  the 
breaking  of  branches  is  heard  at  the  water's  edge,  and 
the  head  and  forepart  of  a  moose  appears,  stepping 
slowly  into  the  water.  He  paused  and  looked  about, 
but  did  not  see  us,  as  we  were  close  under  the  bank. 
As  he  did  not  go  in  any  farther,  Rowell  pushed  the 
canoe  slowly  forward,  and  I  took  aim,  resting  the  gun 
on  one  knee  as  I  sat  in  the  bottom  of  the  canoe.  I 
took  aim  as  I  had  been  told,  at  the  fore-shoulder, 
a  little  behind.  I  kept  the  aim  until  we  were  within 
about  six  or  seven  rods,  when  Rowell  whispered, 
u  Now,  fire,"  and  I  fired.  It  was  my  first  shot  at  any 
large  wild  animal,  but  I  was  as  calm  as  if  I  had  been 


206  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  36. 

firing  at  a  mark.  It  was  not  quite  light,  but  I  could 
see  his  outline  distinctly.  He  disappeared.  "  What 's 
that  in  the  water  !  "  said  Rowell.  He  had  fallen,  and 
after  an  instant's  stillness  was  struggling  in  the  water. 
"  Shall  I  fire  the  other  barrel  ?  "  "  No  I  He 's 
dead."  And  a  few  strokes  brought  us  to  his  side. 
As  we  passed  him  I  turned  round  to  look  at  him 
and  incautiously  sat  on  the  gunwale,  and  over  went 
the  little  birch,  throwing  us  and  our  guns  and  axe  in 
the  water.  It  was  not  deep,  and  we  recovered  them 
easily  and  landed.  A  stab  in  the  throat  finished 
the  struggles  of  the  animal,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we 
had  him  hauled  to  the  shore.  It  was  a  dead  lift, 
getting  him  upon  the  bank,  for  although  young,  he 
was  as  large  as  a  common  small-sized  cow. 

My  ball  had  taken  him  just  behind  the  shoulder, 
a  little  higher  than  I  aimed,  and  had  gone  through 
the  wethers.  The  work  of  taking  off  the  hide  and 
quartering  the  animal  I  left  to  the  hunter,  although 
I  did  revive  my  old  California  experience  by  dissect- 
ing one  joint  and  skinning  the  fore-leg. 

Amid  the  triumph  of  my  first  shot  I  could  not  but 
take  some  satisfaction  in  the  knowledge  that  this  de- 
struction of  innocent,  perhaps  enjoyed  life,  was  not  in 
mere  wantonness.  This  is  the  food  of  the  people  on 
the  lake,  by  whom  other  meats  are  not  attainable, 
and  there  was  an  order  for  a  moose  from  Greenville, 
where  this  was  to  be  taken.  Man  has  dominion  over 
the  birds  of  the  air,  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  the  fish 
of  the  sea.  In  its  extent  this  dominion  is  unlimited, 
except  by  the  laws  of  humanity.  There  must  be  no 
cruelty,  no  needless  suffering  inflicted,  and  no  more 
taking  of  life  than  the  wants  of  man,  in  the  way  of 
food,  clothing,  labor  or  science  or  art,  perhaps  also 


1851.  A   MOOSE  HUNT.  207 

exercise  and  recreation,  justly  warrant.  Whatever 
we  may  say  or  feel  about  the  taking  of  life,  is  not 
this  the  truth  ?  Is  it  not  the  truth  of  Scripture  and 
of  reason  ? 

Putting  the  fore-quarters,  either  of  which  was  a 
heavy  lift  for  one  man,  into  the  boat,  with  the  skin, 
we  pushed  off  anew  up  the  rapids,  through  the  ponds, 
and  over  the  lake  to  old  Kineo,  which  we  reached  be- 
fore the  people  of  the  house  had  gone  to  breakfast. 
It  had  been  a  novel  and  exciting  chapter  in  my  life, 
for  which  I  would  give  many  of  the  humdrum  days 
of  pleasure  in  the  established  routes  of  men. 

August  9.  Thus  ended,  on  the  whole,  the  pleas- 
antest,  in  every  way  most  satisfactory  sailing  ex- 
cursion I  ever  made.  It  is  true  that  I  have  a  fond- 
ness for  a  boat,  for  life  on  the  water,  beyond  the  af- 
fection I  bear  to  any  other  mode  of  pastime.  The 
vicissitudes  of  a  day  in  a  boat !  This  is  always  a 
quiet,  unutterable  pleasure  to  my  spirit.  It  takes  me 
completely  from  all  cares  of  life.  I  forget  that  I  am 
anything  but  a  sailor,  or  have  any  purpose  in  life 
but  to  guide  the  boat,  to  watch  the  winds  and  meet 
the  little  exigencies  of  the  hour.  Then,  too,  my 
thoughts  wander  back  to  my  old  sea-life,  and  I  dream 
over  the  events  of  that  parenthesis  in  my  life,  and 
recall  the  faces  of  my  shipmates,  the  scenes  on  ship 
and  shore,  and  find  myself  humming  over  capstan 
songs  and  the  cries  at  the  windlass  and  the  halyards. 
A  good  breeze  enlivens  me,  and  a  calm  soothes  and 
tranquillizes  me,  and  puts  me  in  a  dreamy  state,  — 
unless,  indeed,  I  admit,  it  lasts  too  long. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

LAW  AND    POLITICS.  —  THE    BURIAL    OF   WEBSTER. 

October  25.  The  chief  events  of  the  last  few 
weeks  are  Judge  Curtis'  induction  to  office,  and 
charge  to  tl*e  Grand  Jury.  The  latter  was  a  remark- 
ably clear,  lawyer-like  performance.  His  definition 
of  treason  was  in  the  technical  Curtis-like  style,  to 
the  effect  that  "  levying  war  "  is  a  technical  phrase, 
which  had  an  established  signification  at  the  time  the 
Constitution  was  adopted,  in  the  law  of  the  realm. 
His  signification  extended  it  beyond  an  attempt  to 
overthrow  the  Government  itself,  and  includes  com- 
bined attempts  to  resist  by  force  the  execution  of  one 
or  more  laws  (it  matters  not  which)  in  all  cases. 
He  repudiates  the  extreme  notion  that  combined  and 
intentional  forcible  resistance  in  one  case  is  treason. 
Yet,  I  believe,  that  under  our  Constitution  treason 
is  —  treason  !  It  is  an  attempt  to  overthrow  the 
State,  and  nothing  less. 

November  2.  Sunday  evening.  Nothing  of  im- 
portance has  occurred  this  week.  The  "  Rescue 
Cases  "  are  on  again,  and  I  made  a  point  of  law  as 
to  the  removal  of  the  cases  from  the  District  Court 
under  Act  of  1846,  §  3,  which  has  given  them  some 
trouble.  Also,  that  Judge  Sprague  erred  in  remov- 
ing the  juror  Walker  after  the  case  was  opened  for 
a  cause  on  which  he  had  been  examined. 

9.    Sunday.    Ten  o'clock  p.  M.     Henry  T.  Parker 


1851. 


LAW  AND  POLITICS.  209 


has  just  come  out  to  tell  me  of  the  death  of  our  dearly 
beloved,  our  venerated  clergyman,  Dr.  Croswell! 
Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord !  He 
has  gone  —  "  having  the  testimony  of  a  good  con- 
science ;  in  the  communion  of  the  Catholic  Church ; 
in  the  confidence  of  a  certain  faith ;  in  the  comfort 
of  a  reasonable,  religious  and  holy  hope;  in  favor 
with  Thee  our  God,  and  in  perfect  charity  with  all 
the  world." 

How  deeply  this  loss  will  be  felt  by  our  parish. 
He  was  its  Alpha  and  Omega.  He  opened  its  first 
service  in  its  little  humble  hall,  and  has  gone  on  with 
it  through  adversity  and  prosperity,  with  singleness 
of  purpose,  a  devotion  never  exceeded.  Neither  sal- 
ary, nor  society,  nor  literature,  nor  ease  drew  him, 
or  threatened  to  draw  him,  away  a  moment.  Daily, 
morning  and  evening,  with  hardly  rest  enough  for 
the  necessities  of  health,  has  his  voice  offered  up  the 
service  of  our  Church,  the  only  daily  service  in  the 
city,  until  a  full  and  devoted  congregation  has  been 
gathered  about  him.  No  man  ever  worked  more 
faithfully,  or  with  more  solemn  and  substantial  ef- 
fect. It  may  be  said,  without  impiety,  that  the  eyes 
of  all  waited  upon  him.  Generous,  kind,  patient, 
devoted,  magnanimous  man  !  May  thy  prayers 
never  cease  to  go  up  for  us,  poor,  frail,  sinful  worms 
of  the  dust,  thou  hast  left  behind  thee  ! 

There  are  many  striking  things  in  the  manner  of 
this  death.  On  the  tenth  day  of  November,  1844, 
Dr.  Croswell  arrived  in  Boston  to  take  charge  of  this 
parish,  and  on  that  evening  first  met  us  in  a  parish 
meeting.  On  the  ninth  day  of  November,  1851,  at 
evening,  making  an  exact  period  of  seven  years,  to 
the  day,  on  the  Lord's  Day,  at  the  last  words  of  the 


210  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  36. 

evening  service,  while  kneeling  with  his  face  to  the 
altar,  with  the  whole  gospel  armor  on,  in  the  white 
robes  of  his  sacred  office,  the  Angel  touched  him, 
44  The  Lord  hath  need  of  thee,"  and  as  the  sun  went 
down  his  spirit  obeyed  the  summons. 

Mr.  [William  F.]  Otis  says,  "  He  was  an  emana- 
tion of  the  Prayer  Book."  So  he  was  indeed.  He 
was  the  most  liturgical  man  in  form,  voice,  manner, 
spirit,  I  ever  saw.  He  is  forever  associated  in  the 
minds  of  his  people  with  the  grandest  and  most  ten- 
der parts  of  that  noble  service,  the  Glorias,  the  Ben- 
edictions, the  Confessions. 

November  16.  The  chief  secular  events  of  the 
week  are  the  elections.  The  Coalition  (Free  Soil 
and  Democrat)  has  probably  carried  both  branches 
of  the  Legislature,  and  Winthrop  lacks  8,000  votes 
of  a  majority.  I  think  the  Coalition  an  error  of 
moral  science  on  the  part  of  the  Free  Soil  party ;  but 
I  rejoice  that  the  Whigs  are  defeated,  in  the  present 
selfish  and  cowardly  policy,  and  that  Sumner's  elec- 
tion is  thus  ratified  by  the  people. 

The  other  event  is  the  acquittal  of  Morris.  I  hope 
this  will  end  the  "  Rescue  Cases."  Judge  Curtis' 
charge  was  lucid,  and  absolutely  impartial. 

The  Morris  above  referred  to  was  Robert  Morris,  the 
first  colored  lawyer  at  the  Suffolk  bar,  and  well-known  in 
the  legal  profession  of  Boston  in  1852  and  subsequently  un- 
til his  death.  Mr.  Charles  G.  Loring,  an  earnest  anti-slavery 
man,  and  a  prominent  member  of  the  Suffolk  bar,  had  taken 
an  interest  in  Morris,  who  had  studied  law  in  his  office.  He 
was  the  legal  adviser  of  a  large  portion  of  the  colored  com- 
munity in  Boston,  his  practice  being  mainly  confined  to 
small  cases  in  the  inferior  civil  and  criminal  courts. 
Strongly  sympathizing  with  those  of  his  own  race,  he  was 


1852.  LAW  AND  POLITICS.  211 

present  in  the  court-room  when  Shadrach  was  rescued, 
though  there  was  no  evidence  that  he  was  a  direct  partici- 
pant in  any  lawless  proceeding.  It  is  he  also  who  is  re- 
ferred to  in  the  following  extract :  — 

1852.  January  2.  I  received  to-day  as  gratifying 
a  testimonial  as  I  ever  received,  and  perhaps  ever 
shall  receive.  It  was  a  New  Year's  present  of  Hal- 
lam's  works  in  eight  volumes,  a  superb  London  edi- 
tion, beautifully  bound,  from  "several  colored  citi- 
zens of  Boston,"  on  account  of  my  services  in  the 
"Rescue  Cases."  The  gift  was  accompanied  by  a 
complimentary  and  well-written  note  from  Morris. 
I  answered  it  with  true  feeling  of  satisfaction. 

The  note  from  Morris  above  referred  to  was  as  follows :  — 

Boston,  January  1,  1852. 
Dear  Sir,  —  A  number  of  our  colored  citizens,  deeply 
grateful  for  your  most  able  and  manly  defence  of  the  parties 
indicted  for  the  rescue  of  Shadrach,  and  anxious  to  show, 
even  by  a  slight  token,  their  heartfelt  respect  for  your  char- 
acter, and  their  cordial  appreciation  of  your  invaluable 
services  in  the  rescue  trials,  ask  you  to  honor  them  by  the 
acceptance  of  the  accompanying  volumes  of  the  historical 
works  of  Hallam.  In  his  writings  we  seem  to  discern  a 
spirit  kindred  to  your  own,  since  they  are  everywhere  ani- 
mated by  that  strong  sentiment  of  Liberty  protected  by 
Law  which  lives  in  your  own  breast,  and  which  has  in  all 
later  times  so  honorably  distinguished  the  truly  great  consti- 
tutional lawyers,  the  Erskines  and  Broughams  of  England. 
•  I  am,  sir,  with  the  highest  respect, 

Your  friend  and  servant, 

Robert  Morris. 
R.  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  Esq. 

Then,  and  long  afterwards,  as  will  appear  from  the  fol- 
lowing letter,  whenever  Mr.  Dana's  name  came  into  promi- 
nence, it  was  a  favorite  newspaper  charge  against  him  that 


212  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  36. 

he  had  accepted  a  fee  for  his  professional  services  in  defend- 
ing the  fugitive  slaves  or  their  rescuers.  One  of  these 
charges  appeared  in  the  '*  New  York  Tribune  "  of  the  26th 
of  August,  1872,  and  was  summarily  disposed  of  by  Edmund 
Quincy  in  the  following  letter  :  — 

To  the  Editor  of  Tlie  Tribune. 

Sir,  —  In  your  issue  of  the  26th  instant  is  an  article  entitled 
"  A  Daw  Plucked,"  which  contains  thev  statement  that  Mr. 
Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  had  received  the  sum  of  $2,500  "  for 
his  services  as  attorney  in  behalf  of  the  hunted  fugitives  from 
slavery."  As  my  name  is  mentioned  in  the  same  article  in 
a  complimentary  manner,  my  conduct  and  that  of  two  other 
gentlemen  being  contrasted  with  that  of  Mr.  Dana,  perhaps 
you  will  permit  me  to  state  the  exact  facts  in  the  premises, 
the  same  being  within  my  own  personal  knowledge. 

Mr.  Dana  never  received  any  remuneration  for  his  pro- 
fessional services  in  any  fugitive  slave  case.  After  the 
close  of  the  case  of  Anthony  Burns,  the  Committee  having 
charge  of  his  defence,  of  their  own  mere  motion,  sent  Mr. 
Dana  a  check  for  two  hundred  ($200)  dollars.  This  he  re- 
turned to  them,  saying,  in  substance,  that  he  hoped  the  time 
would  never  come  when  a  member  of  the  Boston  bar  would 
accept  money  for  his  professional  aid  to  a  man  claimed  as  a 
slave.  The  Committee,  then,  to  show  their  sense  of  his  ser- 
vices, presented  him  with  a  piece  of  plate  with  an  appropri- 
ate inscription,  as  a  permanent  memorial  of  the  event. 

When  the  trials  of  the  "  Shadrach  Rescuers  "  approached, 
Mr.  Dana,  together  with  Mr.  John  P.  Hale,  then  Senator  from 
New  Hampshire,  were  retained  professionally  for  the  de- 
fence. Both  these  gentlemen  held  that  there  was  a  clear 
distinction  between  the  case  of  a  slave  claimed  under  the 
Fugitive  Law  and  that  of  a  citizen  who  had  rescued  one  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  United  States  officers,  and  who  was  to 
have  a  legal  trial  before  a  court  and  jury  for  the  act.  There 
were  five  trials  which  occupied  many  days.  Mr.  Dana  de- 
fended all  of  them,  Mr.  Hale  having  to  withdraw  after  the 


1852.  LAW  AND  POLITICS.  213 

first  two.  For  this  service  Mr.  Dana  received,  not  $2,500, 
or  the  fifth  part  of  it,  but  the  precise  sum  of  four  hundred 
($400)  dollars.  I  think  no  lawyer  will  say  that  this  was  an 
excessive  compensation  for  the  time  and  labor  bestowed  on 
the  trials  and  the  preparation  for  them. 

Edmund  Quincy. 
Dedham,  Mass.,  August  30,  1872. 

After  living  several  years,  first  in  the  West  Cedar  Street 
house  and  subsequently  in  lodgings,  Mr.  Dana  finally,  as 
his  family  increased,  decided  to  give  himself  the  luxury  of  a 
house  of  his  own.  Naturally  enough  he  fixed  upon  Cam- 
bridge as  his  future  abiding-place.  Accordingly,  about  the 
year  1851,  he  purchased  a  lot  of  land,  not  far  from  Cam- 
bridge Common  and  the  Washington  Kim,  and  built  a 
house  upon  Berkeley  Street,  a  name  given  by  himself  in 
honor  of  Bishop  Berkeley.  While  this  house  was  building 
and  being  furnished,  he  and  his  family  lived  at  the  Brattle 
House  in  Cambridge,  since  occupied  by  the  University 
Press,  but  then  a  hotel.  In  the  Berkeley  Street  house  he 
passed  the  next  seventeen  years  of  his  life,  and  his  best 
working  period.  The  rear  of  his  land  almost  adjoined  the 
rear  of  the  larger  grounds  on  which  stood  the  Craigie  house, 
fronting  Brattle  Street,  then  occupied  by  the  poet  Long- 
fellow, with  whom  and  his  family  the  personal  and  social 
relations  of  the  Danas  were  always  close.  Cambridge  was 
at  this  period  in  its  happiest  social  condition,  as  the  street 
railway,  which  soon  converted  it  into  a  convenient  suburb 
of  Boston,  did  not  make  its  advent  until  1856.  So  the 
Danas  now  saw  a  great  deal  of  the  Everett  family,  just 
closing  their  time  of  residence  in  the  old  president's  house, 
James  Russell  Lowell  and  his  wife,  Professors  Channing, 
Beck,  Peirce,  and  the  young  professors,  Child,  Lane,  Cook 
and  Gould,  who  occasionally  added  a  touch  of  humor  and 
gayety  to  the  Book  Club  reunions  by  representations  of 
German  amusements,  —  reminiscences  of  student  days. 
They  also  frequently  met,  among  other  families,  the  Pal- 


214  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  36. 

freys,  the  Feltons,  the  Nortons,  the  Wheatons  and  the 
Greenoughs.  For  years  also  it  was  the  habit  of  Charles 
Sumner  when  at  home,  after  taking  a  Sunday  dinner  with 
Longfellow  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  to  drop  in  at  Dana's 
at  the  hour  for  tea.  At  one  period  Dana,  as  was  apt  to  be 
the  case  sooner  or  later  with  Sumner's  friends,  incurred  his 
displeasure  by  differing  from  him  in  public  over  some  ques- 
tion of  political  policy,  and  for  years  the  Sunday  evening 
visits  ceased ;  but  after  1866  friendly  relations  were  re- 
newed, nor  were  they  again  interrupted.  In  the  following 
entry  Dana  recorded  his  delight,  when  at  last,  after  ten 
years  of  married  life,  he  found  himself  in  his  own  perma- 
nent home :  — 

On  Tuesday,  March  16,  we  took  possession  of  our 

new  house.  ...  It  is  a  beautiful  house.     has 

selected  the  wall-papers  and  carpets  and  curtains  and 
furniture  with  so  much,  such  exquisite  taste,  that  it 
looks  like  fairy-land.  Then  the  pleasure  and  com- 
fort and  satisfaction  of  being  in  one's  own  house ! 
Every  day  since  we  have  been  in,  we  have  admired 
and  congratulated  like  children  at  a  play. 

I  have  devoted  two  nights  to  the  arrangement  of 
my  books  and  papers  in  my  study,  and  have  now  the 
comfort  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  of  a  private  room, 
with  my  own  furniture  and  papers  and  books  about 
me,  where  I  can  read  and  write  and  think  without  in- 
terruption. May  we  be  duly  grateful  to  God  for  his 
blessings,  and  may  I  make  use  of  my  opportunities ; 
may  my  private  room  be  consecrated  to  study  and 
thought  for  my  own  good  and  the  good  of  my  fellow- 
men  ! 

Nor  in  Dana's  eyes  did  time  wither  or  custom  stale  the 
attractiveness  of  this,  his  first  home.  Years  afterwards, 
when  he  and  his  family  had  long  lived  in  Boston,  he  had 


1852.  LAW  AND  POLITICS.  215 

occasion  to  revisit  the  Berkeley  Street  house,  to  attend  the 
funeral  of  one  of  its  occupants.  On  his  return  home  he 
wrote  as  follows  to  his  wife,  who,  with  several  of  his 
daughters,  was  then  in  Europe  :  — 

1871.  December  24.  I  sat  in  the  dining-room, 
with  many  thoughts  and  much  meditation  on  our 
seventeen  years  there,  when  our  children  were  infants 
and  little  girls,  and  we  were  almost  young,  and  all  we 
had  done  there  ;  and  after  all  left  the  house,  I  sat  in 
my  study,  and  looked  into  the  parlor.  It  is  a  beauti- 
ful house,  — and  in  such  good  taste. 

1852.  April  29.  Thursday,  This  evening  Kossuth 
was  to  speak  in  Faneuil  Hall.  Sarah  and  I  went,  and 
had  the  good  fortune  to  get  a  good  standing  place, 
in  company  with  Mrs.  S.  G.  Howe  and  Mrs.  Hillard. 
He  spoke  extremely  well.  His  speeches  are  full  of 
thought,  his  manner  is  dignified  and  quiet,  yet  ear- 
nest, his  eye  the  centre  of  attraction,  and  his  voice 
clear,  audible  and  flexible,  without  being  very  loud. 

May  2.  Dr.  S.  G.  Howe  invited  Sarah  and  me 
to  pass  the  evening  at  his  house,  and  meet  Kossuth, 
Pulszky,  and  their  wives.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Longfellow 
were  also  invited,  so  we  took  a  coach  together.  The 
company  consisted,  beside  our  host  and  hostess,  of 
Kossuth,  Madame  Kossuth,  Pulszky  and  Madame 
Pulszky,  Longfellow,  Mrs.  Chas.  Sedgwick,  Theodore 
Parker,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hillard,  Geo.  Sumner  and 
sister,  and  Wm.  F.  Channing.  I  was  introduced  to 
Kossuth  suddenly,  and  simply  said,  "I  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  hearing  you  at  Faneuil  Hall."  He  bowed. 
u  I  hope  you  found  it  an  easy  hall  to  speak  in." 
"  Quite  the  contrary.  It  is  so  difficult  to  keep  one's 
voice,  that  one  loses  his  ideas."  "  Indeed,  I  am  sur- 
prised.    You  spoke  with    such    apparent   ease,   and 


216  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  36. 

filled  the  hall  so  perfectly,  that  I  hoped  you  found  it 
agreeable  to  you."  No  reply.  An  awkward  inter- 
val. He  is  a  reflecting,  abstracted,  absorbed  man, 
and  never  wastes  himself  on  small  matters.  More- 
over, English  is  not  easy  to  him.  He  looked  out  of 
the  window,  and  said  that  it  was  a  fine  prospect.  It 
being  dead  low  tide,  I  remarked  that  the  low  tide 
and  flats  were  picturesque.  He  made  no  reply,  and 
just  then  Dr.  Howe  came  up. 

This  is  the  beginning  and  end  of  my  acquaintance 
with  Kossuth.  But  I  like  the  man.  He  is  thought- 
ful, earnest,  solemn  and  full  of  great  purposes.  His 
eye  is  wonderful,  indicating  both  tenderness  and  in- 
tensity. 

June  10.  The  jury  disagreed  in  Elizur  Wright's 
case.  Eleven  for  conviction  and  one  for  acquittal. 
It  seems  as  if  Providence  alwa}'s  raised  up  at  least 
one  faithful  man  on  each  jury  to  prevent  a  convic- 
tion in  these  cases.  The  general  impression  is  that 
Wright  might  have  been  acquitted  if  he  had  had 
counsel. 

Dana  speaks  of  the  curious  fact  that  on  every  jury  before 
which  any  one  alleged  to  have  been  concerned  in  the  Rescue 
Cases  was  tried,  there  was  always  one  "  faithful  "  juror.  In 
subsequent  years,  he  was  in  the  custom  of  telling  a  singular 
anecdote  illustrating  this  fact.  A  day  or  two  after  the 
rescue  of  Shadrach  he  was  smuggled  off  to  Canada  by  the 
Fitchburg  railroad.  He  was  easily  traced,  and  a  telegram 
ordering  his  arrest  was  sent  to  Fitchburg,  where  in  those 
days  the  westward  train  was  delayed  for  a  considerable 
time ;  but  when  the  train  arrived  that  day  Shadrach  was  not 
on  it.  It  subsequently  appeared  that  the  conductors  of  the 
"  underground  railroad  "  having  him  in  charge  had  sus- 
pected that  a  telegraph  message  to  Fitchburg  might  occa- 
sion them  trouble,  so  they  had  left  the  train  at  a  way  sta- 


1852.  LAW  AND   POLITICS.  217 

ti'on  before  reaching  that  place,  and  hurriedly  driven  in  a 
wagon  thence  across  the  state  line  to  the  first  way  station 
in  New  Hampshire,  where  they  again  caught  the  train  on 
its  way  north,  and  forwarded  their  charge  safely  to  Canada. 
Some  year  or  more  after  the  rescue  trials  were  over,  Dana 
had  occasion  to  deliver  a  political  speech  in  Middlesex 
County,  not  far  from  the  New  Hampshire  state  line.  After 
the  meeting  had  dissolved,  and  he  was  preparing  to  leave  the 
hall,  he  was  approached  by  a  quiet,  plain-looking  man,  who 
inquired  if  he  remembered  him.  After  looking  at  the  man 
a  moment,  Dana  answered,  —  "  Yes.     You  were  the  twelfth 

juror  in 's  case ;  "  mentioning  one  of  the  rescue  trials. 

The  man  immediately  replied,  "  Yes  ;  I  was  the  twelfth 
juror  in  that  case,  and  I  was  the  man  who  drove  Shadrach 
over  the  line.', 

"  Now,"  Dana  would  add,  "  how  singular  it  was  that  Lunt 
and  the  United  States  marshal  should  have  raked  the  dis- 
trict of  Massachusetts  to  find  a  jury  that  would  convict  in 
that  case,  and  had  subjected  the  whole  panel  to  special  in- 
vestigation to  establish  the  fact  that  no  one  in  it  had  such 
a  bias  as  would  prevent  conviction,  —  actually  packing  the 
jury,  —  and  yet  had  succeeded  in  getting  into  the  jury-box 
the  one  man  who  had  been  instrumental  in  running  Sha- 
drach finally  out  of  the  jurisdiction  !  " 

19.  All  the  world  absorbed  in  the  ballotings  of 
the  Baltimore  Convention.  Scott,  Fillmore  and  Web- 
ster. It  is  strange  how  much  more  interesting  are 
personal  politics  than  political  principles.  The  u  plat- 
form "  is  hardly  noticed  except  by  the  few  thinking 
minds,  while  all  are  running  mad  on  the  names. 

The  platform  seems  to  me  as  satisfactory  as  could 
be  expected  of  a  national  party,  unless  the  North 
could  be  brought  to  reject  the  whole  slavery  question 
by  force  of  numbers.  The  clause  "  until  time  and 
experience,"  etc.,  opens  the  door  widely  enough  for 


218  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  36. 

persons  who  think  the  constitutional  provisions  ought 
to  be  enforced  by  congressional  legislation. 

June  27.  The  nomination  of  Scott  is  matter  of  ex- 
treme mortification  and  chagrin  to  the  Webster  men. 
They  seem  to  have  no  principles  at  stake,  but  to 
follow  merely  a  blind  personal  devotion  to  Webster. 
They  are  full  of  voting  for  Pierce.  Conservatism, 
tariff,  banks,  Cuba,  war,  —  all  is  forgotten  !  They 
see  and  feel  only  the  failure  of  their  candidate  and  of 
his  system.  The  truth  is,  they  feel  that  the  rejection 
of  Webster  and  Fillmore,  backed  as  they  were  by  the 
entire  Southern  strength,  by  the  power  of  the  admin- 
istration and  of  the  great  cities,  in  favor  of  Scott, 
whose  strength  lay  in  the  North  and  in  the  country, 
is  significant  of  their  entire  policy.  This  convention 
has  shown  four  things :  — 

1.  That  serving  the  South  is  not  sure  pay. 

2.  That  the  North  is  able  to  prevail  if  it  will. 

3.  That  the  liberal  Northern  element  in  the  Whig 
party  is  strong  enough  to  beat  the  South,  the  admin- 
istration and  the  great  cities  combined. 

4.  That  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  is  a  statute  and 
not  a  compact. 

Still,  the  North  was  far  from  doing  its  duty.  The 
eighth  resolution  l  should  have  been  killed  and  might 

1  The  section  ref erred  to  was  as  follows  :  — 

Eighth.  —  That  the  series  of  acts  of  the  Thirty-first  Congress,  — 
the  act  known  as  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  included  —  are  received 
and  acquiesced  in  hy  the  Whig  party  of  the  United  States,  as  a  settle- 
ment in  principle  and  suhstance,  of  the  dangerous  and  exciting  ques- 
tion which  they  embrace ;  and,  so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  we  will 
maintain  them  and  insist  upon  their  strict  enforcement  until  time  and 
experience  shall  demonstrate  the  necessity1  of  further  legislation,  to 
guard  against  the  evasion  of  the  law  on  the  one  hand,  and  abuse  of 
their  powers  on  the  other,  not  impairing  their  present  efficiency  ;  and 
we  deprecate  all  further  agitation  of  the  question  thus  settled  as  dan- 


1852.  LAW  AND  POLITICS.  219 

have  been.  The  party  should  have  rejected  the 
whole  slave  question  from  its  platform.  It  looks  too 
much  as  if  the  North  yielded  the  platform  to  the 
South,  in  expectation  of  carrying  its  candidate,  and 
came  very  near  losing  that.  But  two  great  results 
are  gained,  —  Webster  and  Fillmore  are  rejected, 
and  the  policy  to  which  they  are  committed  —  that 
of  compelling  men  to  treat  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  as 
a  compact  —  is  defeated. 

August  26.  Invited  to  preside  at  the  Ratification 
Meeting  at  Faneuil  Hall,  to  ratify  the  Pittsburgh 
nomination.1 

Objections.  (1.)  Cannot  engage  in  politics.  My 
profession  requires  all  my  time  and  mind.  (2.)  Do 
not  want  to  commit  myself  to  "Free  Democracy" 
without  explanations  and  qualifications. 

Reasons  pro.  (1.)  The  threats  made  against  me  in 
the  papers  some  time  ago,  that  merchants,  etc.,  must 
withdraw  their  business  from  me.  (2.)  The  want 
of  sound  and  conservative  men  in  action  in  our  party. 

Never  more  distressed  in  my  life  to  make  a  decision. 
Talked  with  Adams,  Wilson  and  others.  All  wanted 
me  to  speak.  Very  reluctantly  and  quite  unsatisfied, 
determined  to  decline.  Did  so.  I  do  not  know  that 
I  ever  so  much  regretted  the  want  of  property,  to 
enable  me  to  do  a  great  public  duty. 

September   25.     Saturday.     Went   to  Watertown 

gerous  to  our  peace  ;  and  will  discountenance  all  efforts  to  continue 
or  renew  such  agitation  whenever,  wherever,  or  however  the  attempt 
may  he  made,  and  we  will  maintain  this  system  as  essential  to  the 
nationality  of  the  Whig  party  of  the  Union. 

1  John  P.  Hale  of  New  Hampshire  and  George  W.  Julian  of  Indi- 
ana had  been  nominated  at  Pittsburgh  on  the  11th  of  August,  by  the 
convention  of  the  Free  Soil  party,  as  candidates  for  President  and 
Vice-President. 


220  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  ^t.  37. 

to  lead  in  the  prosecution  of  the  complaint  against 
Porter  for  liquor  selling.  There  was  apprehension 
of  a  riot,  and  a  police  force  of  125  men  were  on  the 
spot.  It  was  adjourned,  on  an  affidavit  of  Porter 
that  he  had  just  learned  that  the  complainant  was  an 
atheist.  I  made  an  effort  to  reach  the  3.45  train  for 
Hartford,  in  order  to  get  to  Wethersfield.  Drove 
rapidly  to  my  house  and  there  found  little  Charlotte, 
who  had  been  promised  the  journey,  trying  to  get 
dressed  and  packed  in  season,  but  there  was  not  time. 
They  hurried,  but  she  behaved  very  well,  and  said 
she  would  not  try  to  go  as  it  would  detain  me  and 
I  might  lose  the  cars.  I  drove  off  and  reached  the 
cars  in  season.  On  the  way  I  was  so  much  affected 
by  the  thought  of  the  dear  little  girl's  disappoint- 
ment, that  I  could  take  no  pleasure,  nor  indeed  keep 
my  mind  composed.  It  was  not  necessary  for  me  to 
go  that  afternoon,  and  a  loss  of  a  day  to  me  or  her 
mother  was  not  of  so  much  consequence  as  the  dis- 
appointment to  her.  Unable  to  satisfy  myself,  I  in- 
quired of  the  conductor,  and  found  that  I  could  get 
out  at  Framingham  and  return  in  the  down  train.  I 
did  so,  and  felt  my  mind  so  much  relieved  that  I  felt 
sure  I  had  done  right.  I  reached  home  at  tea  time, 
and  the  little  girls  were  so  happy  to  see  me,  and  we 
had  so  pleasant  an  evening  together,  and  Charlotte 
was  so  happy  at  the  thought  of  securing  her  journey, 
that  I  was  well  repaid.  The  prospect,  also,  of  a  long 
quiet  Sunday  at  home  was  inviting,  it  being  my  only 
day  of  rest  and  reading. 

October  23.  Engaged  yesterday  and  to-day  in  the 
trial  of  Elizur  Wright's  case  for  rescue  of  Shadrach. 
He  is  entirely  clear  of  all  connection  with  the  rescue 
in  fact,  although  he  was  delighted  with  the  result. 


1852.  LAW  AND  POLITICS.  221 

Judge  Curtis  tries  the  case  well  and  fairly  —  very 
fairly.  His  bias  is  against  us,  but  lie  schools  him- 
self to  keep  it  under,  not  only  in  form  but  in  reality. 
In  some  points  he  has  taken  pains  to  aid  the  prisoner. 
Only  twice  has  be  acted,  as  we  think,  under  a  wrong 
influence.  He  was  wrong  in  permitting  the  third  in- 
terrogatory to  be  put  to  the  jurors  after  acknowledg- 
ing that  it  was  likely  to  mislead,  on  the  ground  that 
no  substitute  that  had  been  offered  or  that  he  could 
devise  was  satisfactory.  Better  not  put  the  question 
than  to  mislead.  But  it  is  impossible  that  court  and 
counsel  cannot  put  a  proper  interrogation  into  writ- 
ing. The  second  instance  was  when  he  interrupted 
me  in  my  opening,  saying  that  I  was  going  too  much 
into  generals,  that  my  duty  was  to  state  the  facts 
we  intend  to  prove  and  the  law  applicable  thereto. 
If  counsel  arrange  that  the  usual  address  to  the  state 
of  mind  of  the  jury,  to  remove  prejudice  and  mistake, 
shall  be  made  in  the  opening,  I  do  not  believe  the 
court  can  control  it.  If  it  can,  it  is  a  bad  thing  to 
try  and  fail  in.  Interference  with  the  argument  in 
a  political  cause  is  of  questionable  utility. 

25.  Monday.  Yesterday  morning,  at  three  o'clock, 
Daniel  Webster  died.  He  died  at  Marshfield,  at  his 
own  home,  in  his  bed,  surrounded  by  his  friends. 

It  is  felt  by  all  to  be  a  most  solemn  season.  Those 
who  agree  with  his  course  on  the  7th  March  and 
since  feel  that  the  country  has  sustained  an  irrepa- 
rable loss,  and  almost  idolize  his  memory.  Those  who 
condemn  his  course  then  feel  all  the  more  solemnly 
his  death,  for  the}r  feel  that  this  great  sun  has  gone 
down  in  a  cloud.  Those  who  sustain  him  in  his  op- 
position to  the  regular  nominations,  and  in  running 
separately  for  the  Presidency,  feel  that  their  head  is 


222  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  37. 

taken  away  from  them,  while  those  who  disapprove 
of  his  course  cannot  rid  themselves  of  the  feeling 
that  his  defeat  at  Baltimore  and  the  entire  failure  of 
the  attempt  to  arouse  the  country  to  his  separate  and 
independent  support  have  caused  or  hastened  [his 
death].  From  all  these  causes,  and  in  their  various 
and  conflicting  qualities  and  degrees,  all  men  agree 
to  mourn  his  death.  No  death  since  that  of  Wash- 
ington has  excited  so  general  a  grief. 

October  26.  Tuesday,  The  bar  held  a  meeting 
yesterday  morning,  before  I  got  into  town,  and  ap- 
pointed a  committee  of  five  to  take  charge  of  the  pro- 
ceedings, prepare  resolutions,  etc.  This  consisted  of 
Choate,  Bartlett,  G.  T.  Curtis,  Hillard  and  myself, 
and  C.  G.  Loring,  ex  officio. 

27.  Wednesday.  Elizur  Wright  was  acquitted, 
much  to  our  joy.  The  bar  ought  to  vote  Farley  and 
me  a  service  of  plate  for  demonstrating  the  impor- 
tance of  professional  services.  At  the  previous  trial 
he  defended  himself,  and  had  but  one  juryman  on 
his  side,  —  came  within  one  of  being  convicted. 
Now  he  employs  counsel,  and  is  acquitted.  But  he 
deserved  the  acquittal.  He  had  no  part  or  lot 
whatever  in  the  rescue,  although  he  was  ready  for 
it,  no  doubt,  if  an  opportunity  had  offered.  Judge 
Curtis'  charge  was  a  model  of  impartiality. 

28.  Thursday.  The  bar  meeting  was  held  to- 
day, at  9.30  A.  M.  As  ladies  were  admitted  to  a 
few  reserved  seats,  I  took  in  Sarah  and  she  had  the 
great  pleasure  of  hearing  all  the  performances.  The 
committee  met  at  nine,  to  read  the  resolutions.  One 
said  that  Webster's  great  voice  never  failed  to  sup- 
port the  cause  of  the  oppressed,  etc.  I  requested 
them  to  alter  this,  as  it  seemed  to  point  to  the  dis- 


1852.  LA  W  AND  POLITICS.  223 

puted  point  of  the  7th  March  speech.  Judge  War- 
ren at  first  proposed  to  vote  me  down,  as  I  was  the 
only  Free  Soiler ;  but  after  a  few  words  from  me, 
either  from  deference  to  my  argument  or  from  fear 
that  Professor  Greenleaf  and  C.  G.  Loring  might 
sympathize  with  me,  they  consented  to  alter  it,  and 
to  speak  of  his  voice  having  so  often  penetrated 
where  oppression,  etc.  I  told  him  I  could  well  sus- 
tain that,  for  I  believed  he  had  done  more  than  any 
living  statesman  to  establish  the  true  Free  Soil  doc- 
trines. 

The  proceedings  in  court  were  an  honor  to  the 
bar  and  bench,  and  would  have  done  honor  to  any 
bar  or  bench  in  the  world.  Choate  was  admirable, 
full  of  originality,  beauty  and  feeling.  Loring  was 
instructive  and  able  ;  the  apprehensions  from  George 
T.  Curtis  were  not  realized,  for  he  had  the  good  sense 
to  be  quite  short ;  and  George  Lunt  met  the  embar- 
rassments of  his  position  with  good  taste  and  feeling. 
His  position  was  awkward,  for  he  claimed  the  right, 
officially,  to  announce  the  death  and  make  the  mo- 
tion, while  the  bar  had  refused  to  place  the  resolu- 
tions in  his  hands.  The  reply  of  Judge  Sprague  was 
spirited  and  interesting,  and  delivered  in  an  excellent 
style,  clear  and  manly,  and  Judge  Curtis,  more  suo, 
was  clear,  judicious,  temperate  and  sensible.  The 
whole  affair  was  worthy  of  the  occasion,  which  is  say- 
ing a  great  deal. 

29.  Friday.  Left  Boston  at  7.45  A.  M.  via  Co- 
hasset,  for  Marshfield,  to  attend  the  funeral.  At 
Cohasset  we  took  coaches  and  rode  to  Marshfield,  a 
distance  of  some  fifteen  miles. 

The  day  was  a  warm  autumn  hazy  day,  with  a 
falling  and  fallen  leaf,  and  a  sere  look  of  the  grass, 


22-1  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.SI. 

in  good  keeping  with  the  occasion  and  the  rather  bar- 
ren and  dreary  look  of  the  country.  Some  four  or 
five  hundred  passengers  came  by  this  train  and  rilled 
some  fifty  or  eighty  carriages.  At  every  cross-road 
carriages  joined  us,  and  as  we  neared  Marshfield  it  be- 
came a  perfect  funeral  procession.  As  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  before  and  behind,  was  a  long  file  of  car- 
riages, and  we  had  to  stop  and  whip  up,  at  intervals, 
as  in  the  most  crowded  thoroughfare.  It  was  inter- 
esting to  see  the  people  on  the  road,  most  of  whom 
had  never  seen  an  omnibus,  nor  a  larger  assembly 
than  of  a  Sunday  at  church,  gazing  with  wonder  at 
the  six-horse  coaches,  the  beautifully  painted  omni- 
buses and  the  great  concourse  of  men.  A  mile  and 
a  half  before  we  reached  Mr.  Webster's  we  found 
wagons,  chaises  and  coaches,  put  up  at  sheds  and 
barns,  and  standing  in  the  open  fields,  the  horses  tied 
to  fences  and  trees.  This  continued  all  the  last  mile 
and  a  half  of  the  way.  On  looking  over  the  coun- 
try from  the  hilltop,  they  covered  the  land  like 
grasshoppers. 

When  I  reached  the  house  it  was  full,  and  the 
doors  were  locked,  while  an  immense  crowd  filled  the 
piazzas  and  the  yard,  and  was  scattered  over  the 
grounds.  Under  a  tree  in  front  of  the  house  stood 
the  coffin,  uncovered,  and  in  it  lay  stretched  at 
length,  in  the  full  dress  that  he  wore  at  his  last 
speech,  "  all  that  is  mortal  of  Daniel  Webster."  He 
had  on  a  blue  coat  with  gilt  buttons,  and  a  white 
neck-cloth,  which  kept  up  a  natural  appearance  to 
the  form,  while  the  huge,  massy  forehead,  the  dome 
of  thought,  lay  open,  under  the  New  England  sky, 
gazed  upon  by  the  thousands  of  his  own  race  and  na- 
tion in  silent   awe.      Even   in    the   open   yard    the 


1852.  LA  W  AND  POLITICS.  225 

crowd  was  so  great  as  to  require  constant  watchful- 
ness to  prevent  disorder. 

Daniel  Webster  was  a  true  product  of  New  Eng- 
land and  true  child  of  her  earth,  and  to  her  earth, 
on  her  most  sacred  spot,  the  home  of  the  Pilgrims, 
was  he  to  return.  There  was  something  solemn  in 
the  solitariness  and  remoteness  of  his  home,  in  the 
dreary  stretches  of  sea-shore  in  view,  and  in  the 
thought  that  he  died  here,  and  not  in  the  bustle  and 
hurry  of  a  city.  And  to  this  remote  and  not  easily 
accessible  spot  thousands,  from  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, from  all  cities  and  states  within  reach,  have  made 
their  toilsome  journey,  moved  by  a  common  impulse 
and  overshadowed  by  an  awe  which  they  feel  but 
cannot  all  express. 

No  man  represented  so  completely  in  our  day,  at 
least,  the  mighty,  innate,  inaccessible  superiority  of 
dialectic  intellect.  The  Almighty  gave  him,  at  birth, 
a  larger  and  heavier  brain  than  any  of  his  race,  and 
a  physical  frame  suited  to  its  utmost  needs. 

The  body  was  borne  to  the  tomb,  situated  in  a 
corner  of  the  parish  burying-ground  which  he  had 
appropriated  to  himself  and  his  family,  with  a  path 
leading  to  it  from  his  home.  Then  the  great  crowd 
began  to  disperse,  and  the  great  caravans  started 
on  their  way  to  the  neighboring  towns  and  the  near- 
est railroad  stations.  The  scene  for  a  while,  except 
that  all  was  as  still  and  solemn  as  the  driving,  turn- 
ing and  crossing,  and  the  calling  for  passengers  would 
permit,  was  not  unlike  the  descriptions  of  the  motley 
crowds  of  vehicles  at  the  English  races. 

I  rode  to  Kingston,  and  thence  to  Boston  by  rail. 
One  of  the  most  touching  things  in  all  that  met  the 
eye  or  ear  at  Marshfield  was  the  lowing  of  the  cat- 


226  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  2Zt.  37. 

tie  shut  up  in  their  barns.  They  seemed  like  real 
mourners  for  him  whose  large  heart  went  out  in  af- 
fection to  them. 

November  3.  Wednesday.  The  country  gone 
"with  a  rush"  for  Pierce.  A  New  Hampshire, 
Democratic,  doughface,  militia  colonel,  a  kind  of 
tliird-rate  county,  or,  at  most,  state  politician,  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States !  I  fear  this  is  the  best  of 
it.  But  the  Whigs  in  making  their  platform  prohib- 
ited us  from  supporting  Scott. 

It  is  now  ten  days  since  Webster's  death,  and  five 
days  since  the  scene  at  Marshfield,  and  a  national 
election  has  intervened,  yet  the  scene  and  event 
haunt  me.  I  cannot  escape  from  it.  Every  vacant 
phase  of  mind  is  filled  with  the  image  of  the  great 
solemn  countenance,  lying  stretched  in  death  in  the 
open  air,  under  the  canopy  of  heaven,  beneath  the 
tree  his  own  hand  had  planted,  in  the  yard  of  the 
house  where  his  affections  were  garnered  up.  With 
all  his  greatness  and  smallness,  with  all  the  praise 
and  blame,  gratitude,  admiration,  censure  and  dis- 
trust, with  which  we  look  upon  his  life,  there  is 
something  so  majestical,  so  large  of  mind  and  heart 
about  him,  that  an  emotion  of  pride  and  tears  swells 
at  the  very  thought  of  him. 

Strange,  that  the  best  commendation  that  has  ap- 
peared yet,  the  most  touching,  elevated,  meaning 
eulogy,  with  all  its  censure,  should  have  come  from 
Theodore  Parker  !  Were  J  Daniel  Webster,  I  would 
not  have  that  sermon  destroyed  for  all  that  had  been 
said  in  my  favor  as  yet. 

1 853.  January  4.  I  never  meet  Choate  without 
some  pleasant  or  interesting  thing  being  said.  I  met 
him  in  the  Library  and  asked   him  if  he  had  read 


1853.  LAW  AND  POLITICS.  221 

Seward's  speech  on  Webster  in  the  Senate.  He 
had.  I  hoped  he  thought  it  as  striking  as  1  did,  and 
I  added,  k4  Don't  you  think  there  is  more  thought  in 
Seward's  speeches  than  in  those  of  any  man  now  in 
public  life  ?  "  He  said  he  did ;  that  Seward  was  a 
thinker  and  writer  as  well  as  a  speaker.  I  alluded 
to  Seward's  saying  that  in  one  respect  Webster  sur- 
passed Erskine  and  "  approached  Hamilton,"  and 
asked  him  how  the  devotees  of  Webster  would  relish 
that.  He  did  not  reply  directly,  but  said  that  he 
was  engaged  in  an  examination  of  Hamilton,  and 
was  at  a  loss  to  discover  that  poetry  for  which  all 
his  contemporaries  gave  him  credit.  1  said  I  did  not 
think  Hamilton's  mind  was  poetic,  that  he  was  heroic 
and  chivalrous,  but  not  poetic.  Choate  thought  it 
must  be  so,  and  that  his  works  were  clear  processes 
of  intellect.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  I  remember  an  anec- 
dote told  me  by  Devereux  of  Salem.  lie  had  occa- 
sion to  pay  some  attentions  to  Aaron  Burr  during  a 
visit  Burr  made  to  Boston  after  the  death  of  Hamil- 
ton. He  took  him  to  the  Athenaeum,  and  while 
walking  through  the  sculpture  gallery,  seeing  the 
bust  of  Hamilton  near  him,  turned  off,  naturally 
thinking  it  would  be  disagreeable  to  Burr  to  be 
brought  before  it.  But  Burr  went  directly  up  to  it 
and  said  in  a  very  loud  tone,  *  Ah  !  Here  is  Hamil- 
ton.' An<l,  pressing  his  ringer  along  certain  lines  of 
his  face  said,  4  There  was  the  poetry  ! '  " 

5.  Wednesday.  Supped  at  Lowell's  with  Thack- 
eray. Present,  Longfellow,  Felton,  Clough,  an  Eng- 
lishman, James  T.  Fields,  Edmund  Quincy.  We  sat 
down  a  little  after  ten,  had  an  excellent  supper,  and 
left  a  little  before  two  o'clock.  Walked  home  with 
Longfellow.     Thackeray  is  not  a  great  talker.     He 


228  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEr.  37. 

was  interested  in  all  that  was  said,  and  put  in  a 
clever,  pleasant  word  occasionally.  Felton,  Lowell 
and  I  did  nearly  all  the  talking. 

February  13.  No  event  of  importance  has  oc- 
curred the  last  two  weeks.  I  called  on  Lunt,  United 
States  district  attorney,  to  induce  him  to  nol.  pros. 
the  remaining  rescue  cases,  cases  of  men  who  for 
nearly  two  years  have  not  been  brought  to  trial, 
and  of  Scott,  who  has  been  tried  over,  the  jury  dis- 
agreeing, and  has  not  been  brought  to  trial  again, 
though  twenty  months  have  elapsed.  I  told  him 
that  such  a  course  was  unprecedented  in  criminal  and 
especially  in  political  trials.  His  reply  was  that 
these  were  not  political  trials ;  that  perhaps  "  the  fel- 
lows had  been  punished  enough  "  (what  right  had 
he  to  punish  ?)  ;  and  lastly,  that  he  supposed  I  knew 
that  the  late  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Webster,  had 
taken  these  cases  into  his  own  hands,  and  that  he 
(Lunt)  had  been  obliged  to  do  as  Mr.  Webster  said, 
and  not  as  he  wished,  etc.  This  admission  of  Mr. 
Webster's  deep  interest  and  efforts  in  these  rescue 
cases  corresponds  with  what  Sanger,  Mr.  Lunt's  as- 
sistant, told  me  last  summer.  He  expressed  himself 
with  a  good  deal  of  warmth,  and  suddenly  checked 
himself  to  the  effect*  that  if  the  Secretary  of  State 
had  common  sense,  with  all  his  greatness,  he  would 
not  press  a  trial  at  that  time.  But  Lunt  refused  to 
nol.  pros.<  and  said,  "  Perhaps  he  would  try  one  of 
them  next  May."  I  shall  bring  it  before  Judge 
Sprague. 

23.  Wednesday.  An  attempt  being  made  to  re- 
turn some  of  the  leading  men  of  the  Free  Soil  party 
to  the  [Constitutional]  Convention  from  towns  they 
do  not  live  in,  a  measure  necessary  from   the  fact 


1853.  LAW  AND  POLITICS.  229 

that  our  leading  men  live  in  Whig  towns,  Mr.  Alley 
asked  me  from  wliat  town  I  could  go.  I  told  him 
I  thought  Manchester  would  elect  me,  and  he  said 
he  would  make  a  business  of  it.  To  -  day  Robert 
Carter  called,  from  the  State  Committee,  and  said 
that  the  Free  Soilers  in  Manchester  were  willing  to 
nominate  me,  and  the  only  difficulty  was  with  the 
Democrats,  without  a  support  from  some  of  whom  it 
would  be  difficult  to  elect  me,  and  proposed  that  Mr. 
Mayo,  formerly  of  the  bar,  and  last  year  the  Demo- 
cratic fish  inspector,  recently  removed  by  Clifford, 
should  call  and  talk  with  me  and  get  my  opinions, 
and  then  go  down  and  talk  with  Democrats  there, 
with  whom  he  had  a  good  deal  of  influence. 

This  proposal  I  declined  at  once.  It  would  put 
me  entirely  in  the  power  of  a  man  of  whom  I  knew 
nothing,  who  might  misrepresent  or  misunderstand 
me,  and  who,  at  all  events,  would  have  it  in  his 
power  to  charge  me  with  deception  or  inconsistency, 
if  I  should  differ  from  him  in  the  convention.  I  told 
Carter  I  would  much  rather  go  down  in  the  bold 
English  way  and  face  my  constituents,  if  they  needed 
any  information. 

Afterwards  Wilson  and  Alley  came  and  approved 
of  my  refusal,  and  said  I  should  probably  be  called 
on  to  go  down  and  address  the  friends  of  the  conven- 
tion. 

March  8.  Tuesday.  Yesterday  was  the  day  for 
the  election  of  delegates  to  the  convention  for  the  re- 
vision of  the  Constitution.  I  had  the  compliment  of 
being  elected  from  Manchester  by  a  clear  majority 
over  all  others  on  the  first  ballot.  I  have  also  the 
satisfaction  to  know  that  I  was  elected  without  a 
coalition,  and  am  therefore  under  obligations  to  no 


230  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  37. 

party  to  which  I  do  not  belong.  The  Free  Soil 
party  nominated  me,  and  I  accepted  the  nomination 
in  a  letter.  The  Democrats  refused  to  unite  in  this 
nomination,  and  ran  a  separate  candidate.  The 
Whigs  also  had  a  separate  candidate.  But  there 
were  enough  of  the  old  parties  to  vote  for  me  volun- 
tarily to  secure  my  election.  Sumner  is  elected  from 
Marshfield,  and  Webster's  son  was  the  candidate 
against  him,  but  Sumner  had  a  large  majority.  His 
election  was  on  the  7th  of  March,  the  anniversary 
of  Webster's  speech  !  Several  others  have  been 
elected  from  towns  in  which  they  do  not  reside,  in 
the  English  fashion.  The  friends  of  the  convention 
have  a  very  large  majority,  more  than  a  hundred, 
over  the  Whigs.  This  has  been  mainly  owing  to  the 
folly  of  the  Whigs  in  opposing  the  convention,  and 
trying  to  repeal  the  act  for  calling  it  after  it  had 
been  accepted  by  the  people. 

March  10.  Thursday.  Court  at  Dedham.  Ver- 
dict in  my  favor  in  Bigelow  v.  Wood  to  full  amount 
claimed.     Began  White  v.  Braintree. 

We  have  very  pleasant  times  here  at  the  trials. 
The  judge,  the  sheriff  and  the  members  of  the  bar 
from  out  of  town  board  together  at  the  hotel ;  the 
judge  sitting  at  the  head  of  the  table  and  the  sheriff 
at  the  foot,  the  lawyers  seating  themselves  by  a  tacit 
understanding  according  to  age  and  importance,  and 
there  is  a  good  deal  of  pleasant  conversation.  At 
dinner  there  will  often  be  a  stray  guest  from  Boston, 
who  has  come  up  to  make  a  motion  or  look  after  his 
docket.  Choate,  Bartlett,  Hallett  dropped,  in  on  us 
this  week.  Here,  too,  is  the  remnant  of  the  old  style 
in  which  the  courts  used  to  be  received.  The  sheriff 
with  a  long  white  rod  comes  to  the  tavern  and  stands 


1853.  LAW  AND  POLITICS.  231 

by  the  door  and  precedes  the  judge  on  his  way  to 
court  and  into  his  seat,  and  in  the  same  way  conducts 
him  back  at  the  adjournment  each  day.  This  is  all 
that  is  left  of  the  old  pomp  and  parade  of  court 
week, — two  plain  citizens  walking  through  the  mud 
together,  one  with  a  long  white  rod,  and  the  other 
without ! 

April  7.  Thursday.  Being  Fast  Day,  took  a  long 
walk,  and  in  the  afternoon  and  evening  wrote  the 
chapter  in  the  "  Memoir  of  Rantoul "  on  the  Sims 
trial,  at  the  request  of  the  person  preparing  it. 

8.  Friday.  This  morning  [John  P.]  Hale  re- 
ceived a  compliment  which  evidently  pleased  him 
much,  and  naturally.  Commodore  Nicholas,  of  the 
United  States  ship  German  town,  just  arrived  from 
the  coast  of  Africa,  met  him,  and  thanked  him  for 
his  efforts  in  behalf  of  abolishing  flogging  in  the  navy. 
He  said,  "  No  man  could  have  been  more  opposed  to 
the  bill  than  I  was.  I  believe  I  cursed  you  a  great 
many  times  for  it.  But  I  have  come  back  delighted 
with  its  operation.  It  raises  the  character  of  the 
men  astonishingly.  I  could  not  have  believed  it." 
He  then  invited  Mr.  Hale  on  board  his  ship,  intro- 
duced him  to  his  ..officers  and  men,  and  when  he  left 
the  crew  manned  the  rigging  and  gave  him  three 
cheers. 

During  this  summer  the  family  of  Mr.  Dana  was  broken 
up,  Mrs.  Dana  having  been  advised  to  place  herself  at  a 
water-cure  establishment  at  Brattleboro',  Vermont,  whither 
Dana  accompanied  her  on  the  30th  of  April. 

May  1.  Sunday.  In  the  morning  Sarah  and  I 
went  to  the  Orthodox  church  (there  being  no  Epis- 
copal  church),  and  in   the  afternoon  I  went    with 


232  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  My.  37. 

Rosamond  to  the  Unitarian.  In  each  heard  charac- 
teristic sermons.  The  Orthodox  preacher  was  a 
hard,  sharp  man,  with  a  bilious  complexion,  stiff  hair 
and  black  eyes,  and  he  preached  an  argumentative 
sermon  on  the  Atonement.  The  Unitarian  was  a 
tall,  thin,  mild-looking  jnan,  and  he  preached  rather 
a  soft,  summery  sermon  on  the  text  "  The  fruit  of  the 
spirit  is  love."  In  both  churches  the  congregation 
sat  through  the  prayers,  and  the  little  form  of  lean- 
ing the  head  forward  is  now  dropped,  and  there  is 
nothing  to  distinguish  externally  the  pray.er  from  the 
listening  to  the  sermon. 


ftTNIVEHSlTy 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  MASSACHUSETTS  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION 
OF   1853. 

The  Constitutional  Convention  of  1853  met  at  the  State 
House  in  Boston  on  the  4th  of  May,  and  adjourned  on  the 
first  of  August  following,  having  been  in  session  seventy- 
two  days.  Among  its  members  were  many  of  the  principal 
Massachusetts  public  characters  of  the  time,  including 
Charles  Sumner,  Rufus  Choate,  Henry  L.  Dawes,  Robert 
Rantoul,  Henry  Wilson,  Sidney  Bartlett,  Benjamin  F.  But- 
ler and  both  the  Marcus  Mortons,  the  father  who  had  been 
Governor,  and  the  son  who  was  subsequently  Chief  Justice. 
The  Convention  was  presided  over  by  N.  P.  Banks. 

Though  it  was  Dana's  first  appearance  in  a  deliberative 
body,  he  at  once  came  to  the  front.  Indeed,  there  was  no 
man  in  the  Convention  who  rose  more  rapidly  or  into  greater 
prominence  as  a  debater  than  did  Dana.  In  referring,  at  a 
subsequent  day,  to  those  who  had  taken  active  part  in  it, 
Charles  Sumner  spoke  of  Dana  as  the  man  of  by  far  the 
greatest  legislative  promise,  criticising  only  his  tendency  to 
over-debate,  due  to  excessive  readiness  and  facility. 

The  work  of  the  Convention  was  submitted  for  adoption 
by  the  people  in  the  form  of  eight  propositions.  At  first 
they  seemed  likely  to  encounter  little  opposition ;  but  while 
still  under  discussion,  a  pamphlet  appeared,  purporting  to 
come  from  a  "  Free  Soiler  from  the  Start,"  in  which  the 
proposed  constitution  was  vigorously  criticised  and  con- 
demned. The  author  of  this  pamphlet  was  Dr.  John  G. 
Palfrey,  the  historian  of  New  England,  and  ever  a  warm 


234  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  37. 

personal  and  political  friend  of  Dana's.  The  attack  begun 
by  Dr.  Palfrey  was  followed  up  by  Mr.  C.  F.  Adams.  A 
strong  opposition  also  soon  developed  itself  on  the  part  of 
the  Whigs,  although  not  a  majority,  still  the  dominant  party 
in  the  State,  the  result  of  which  was  that  on  the  14th  of 
November  the  constitution  was  rejected  by  a  majority  of 
about  6,000  in  a  total  popular  vote  of  125,000. 

The  chief  fault  found  with  it  was  the  substitution  of  a 
judiciary,  the  members  of  which  were  appointed  for  a  term 
of  years,  in  place  of  the  old  traditional  judiciary  of  Massa- 
chusetts appointed  during  good  behavior  ;  the  system  of 
representation  was  also  open  to  criticism,  and,  indeed,  was 
intended  to  perpetuate  the  coalition  of  the  Free  Soilers  and 
Democrats  as  against  the  Whigs,  already  referred  to.  Both 
Mr.  Dana  and  Charles  Sumner,  having  taken  an  active  part 
in  preparing  the  instrument,  felt  a  deep  interest  in  its  adop- 
tion. The  relations  of  both  with  Dr.  Palfrey  and  Mr. 
Adams  were  of  the  closest  possible  character,  and  each  took 
his  disappointment  in  a  way  characteristic  of  him  :  —  while 
Dana  good-naturedly  found  fault  with  his  friends  for  not 
having  acted  in  concert  with  him,  giving  him  a  chance  to 
join  them  in  opposing  his  own  work ;  it  was  long  before 
Sumner  ceased  to  evince  his  sense  of  public  and  private 
grievance.  There  was,  in  fact,  for  some  time  after  a  marked 
coolness  in  his  manner  towards  Dr.  Palfrey,  which  only 
time  and  the  advances  of  the  latter  towards  a  reconciliation 
wholly  overcame. 

The  following  is  Dana's  account  of  the  closing  work  of 
the  Convention,  his  experience  and  success  in  which  he 
greatly  enjoyed :  — 

May  4.  Wednesday.  This  day  the  Convention 
for  revising  the  Constitution  of  the  State  met.  Last 
night  a  joint  caucus  of  "the  friends  of  the  Conven- 
tion," both  Democratic  and  Free  Soil,  was  held  to 
agree  on  candidates  and  concert  measures.     After 


1853.     THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.    235 

agreeing  on  candidates  it  was  thought  best  not  to 
concert  measures,  lest  it  should  seem  like  too  much 
dictation. 

11.  Wednesday.  The  Convention  has  been  in  ses- 
sion all  this  week.  I  am  on  the  committee  on  the 
Bill  of  Rights,  Sumner  being  chairman.  We  have 
had  a  brilliant  speech  from  Choate,  and  able  ones 
from  Hallett,  Judges  Sprague  and  Barker,  Butler 
and  others,  on  interesting  questions,  going  quite  into 
the  metaphysics  of  a  constitutional  popular  govern- 
ment. 

19.  Thursday.  In  our  committee  (Bill  of  Rights) 
we  resolved  not  to  attempt  to  re-write  the  instrument, 
and  only  to  make  necessary  changes.  We  discussed 
the  principle  of  the  ''Social  Compact"  which  is  set 
forth  in  it,  and  we  found  not  one  man  who  believed 
in  it.  Judge  Allen  and  one  or  two  more  partially 
defended  it,  but  evidently  had  not  reflected  upon 
and  were  not  successful  or  earnest  in  their  defence, 
while  the  rest  of  us  agreed  that  it  is  a  mere  fiction, 
which  served  its  turn  against  tyranny,  but  cannot 
stand  examination.  Still,  we  could  not  alter  that 
without  altering  the  entire  phraseology,  which  might 
peril  the  Constitution  before  the  people. 

June  17.  Friday.  This  afternoon,  in  Convention, 
made  a  speech  in  favor  of  town  representation.  It 
was  purely  extemporaneous,  I  mean  as  a  speech. 
The  thoughts,  the  line  of  argument,  the  illustrations, 
had  been  over  and  over  in  my  mind,  but  I  had  made 
no  preparation  to  speak.  I  spoke  a  little  over  an 
hour,  and  with  an  effect  which  astonished  me.  The 
congratulations  were  overpowering.  Old  Mr.  Chan- 
dler, probably  the  oldest  and  said  to  be  the  wisest  man 
in  the  House,  came  up  to  me  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 


236  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA  Mt.  37. 

took  my  hand,  and  said,  "  Sir,  you  do  not  need  a  com- 
pliment, but  you  deserve  one."  There  was  a  perfect 
crowd  about  me,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  afternoon  and 
evening  I  had  nothing  but  the  warmest  commenda- 
tion. Choate's  speech  had  discouraged  the  friends  of 
the  towns,  and  they  were  almost  ready  to  surrender. 
Boutwell's  excellent  speech  rallied  them  a  little,  but 
they  said  that  mine  put  them  into  enthusiasm. 

Burlingame  and  I  walked  over  to  Bunker  Hill, 
and  wandered  about  the  base  of  the  monument,  talk- 
ing over  the  events  of  this  day  nearly  eighty  years 
ago  (17th  June)  on  this  spot,  while  the  bells  and 
guns  were  pealing  out.  the  day  from  the  cities  around 
and  beneath  us. 

This  evening  attended  a  caucus  of  the  majority  at 
the  Adams  House.  My  speech  was  the  turning-point 
of  the  discussion,  and  the  deference  with  which  I 
was  treated  was  truly  gratifying. 

June  26.  Sunday.  The  chief  event  in  the  review 
of  this  week  is  the  affair  between  myself  and  Hil- 
lard.1  .  .  . 

I  have  received  another  honor  in  the  Convention. 

1  Reference  is  here  made  to  a  passage  in  one  of  the  debates  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention.  When  the  method  of  dividing-  the  State 
into  representative  districts  to  elect  members  to  the  Legislature  was 
under  discussion,  Mr.  Dana  objected  to  the  equal  district  system, 
making  use  of  the  following  language  :  — 

"  But  even  in  making  a  government,  I  would  not  base  a  govern- 
ment upon  absolute  numbers.  I  should  not  think  a  town  with  800,000, 
or  even  with  50,000  or  30,000  inhabitants  ought  to  have  so  large  a 
proportionate  representation  as  one  of  the  little  rural  towns,  where 
every  man  has  his  property,  every  man  has  his  fireside,  every  man  has 
his  family,  with  his  children  at  school,  his  seat  in  church,  and  where 
he  has  so  strong  an  interest  in  the  soil,  and  where  his  interest  is  bound 
up  in  and  is  identical  with  the  interest  of  the  town  and  the  welfare  of 
the  State.  He  was  born  a  citizen  of  Massachusetts,  he  lives  in  that 
town  his  whole  life-time,  and  there  he  expects  to  die  and  be  buried. 


1853.     THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.    237 

The  grand  committee  of  thirteen  is  appointed  to  re- 
duce the  Constitution  to  the  form  of  articles.  I  am 
upon  it,  and  it  consists,  of  course,  of  the  leading  men 
of  all  parties.  This  committee  has  referred  the  re- 
solves to  a  sub-committee  of  three,  Governor  Bout- 
well,  Judge  Parker  and  myself,  so  that  we  shall  be 
the  actual  writers  of  the  new  parts  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. .  .  . 

Should  a  town  with  such  a  population,  of  a  thousand  men,  be  entitled 
to  no  greater  proportionate  representation  than  a  city  with  its  hetero- 
geneous mass  of  100,000  inhabitants  ?  Look  at  Boston,  for  instance, 
with  its  130,000  or  150,000  inhabitants.  I  have  not  referred  to  the 
statistics,  but  I  shall  be  a  good  deal  mistaken  if  there  are  not  60,000 
or  70,000  of  them  foreigners." 

Some  days  later  Mr.  George  S.  Hillard  of  Boston  criticised  this 
reference  to  Boston  as  follows  :  — 

"I  regret  that  my  friend  for  Manchester  (Mr.  Dana)  should  have 
felt  himself  called  upon  to  add  even  one  jot  or  tittle  to  a  sentiment 
towards  Boston  which  has  increased,  is  increasing,  and  ought  to  be 
diminished.  I  am  sorry  that  he  should  have  cast  one  stick  upon  a  fire, 
out  of  whose  heat  none  but  vipers  can  come.  As  the  bread  that  he  and 
I  both  eat  comes  from  the  business  community  of  Boston,  from  men, 
some  of  whom  are  rich  and  all  of  whom  hope  to  be  rich,  it  does  not 
become  us,  like  f roward  children,  to  strike  at  the  hand  that  feeds  us." 

Mr.  Hillard  was  the  special  representative  in  the  Convention  of 
that  social  element  of  Boston  the  disapproval  of  which,  because  of 
his  political  course,  Dana  had  been  made  to  feel.  Coming  from  him, 
therefore,  these  expressions  carried  with  them  a  possible  significance 
of  time  and  place,  which  there  is  reason  to  believe  Mr.  Hillard,  by 
nature  a  most  considerate  and  amiable  man,  did  not  appreciate,  — 
they  contained  a  reminder  and  implied  a  menace  of  a  kind  that  had 
already  more  than  once  been  heard  through  the  press.  The  moment 
Mr.  Hillard  took  his  seat  Dana  claimed  the  floor  and  made  a  brief 
but  pointed  reply  which  at  the  time  produced  a  deep  impression.  One 
passage  in  it  was  as  follows :  — 

"My  friend  reminded  me,  and  it  is  not  the  first  time  in  the  course 
of  my  life  that  I  have  been  reminded  of  it,  that  '  the  bread  that  he 
and  I  both  eat  comes  from  the  business  community  of  Boston,  and 
that  we  should  not  strike  at  the  hand  that  feeds  us.'  The  hand  that 
feeds  us  !  The  hand  that  feeds  us  !  Sir,  no  hand  feeds  me  that  has 
any  right  to  control  my  opinions  !  " 


238  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  iEr.  37. 

Friday  evening  I  had  a  delightful  drive  with  Sum- 
ner through  Brookline  and  Cambridge,  and  after 
the  drive  we  took  tea  together  at  Mrs.  Meyer's.  We 
talked  over  "  poor  Hillard,"  his  early  tendencies,  his 
want  of  constancy  and  courage,  and  his  subserviency 
of  late  years  to  the  dictation  of  Mr.  Ticknor  and 
that  clique.  We  agreed  that  he  had  been  put  up 
to  this  service  by  that  class  of  men ;  and  we  felt 
obliged  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  what  Hillard 
said  about  "  the  hand  that  fed  him  "  was  a  true  ex- 
ponent of  his  nature. 

After  the  debate,  as  we  were  going  down,  I  met 
Hillard  and  he  came  forward  and  said  he  hoped 
there  would  be  no  interruption  of  social  relations. 
In  the  tenderness  of  pity  and,  I  hope,  of  magnanim- 
ity too,  I  said,  u  No,  certainly  not."  He  seemed  a 
good  deal  affected,  and  said  that  he  did  not  mean 
by  what  he  said  exactly  what  I  attributed  to  him. 
I  asked  him  what  he  did  mean.  Said  he,  "I  mean 
this.  I  mean  that  if  a  man  lives  in  Boston  and  feels 
about  her  position  and  action  as  you  do,  if  a  man 
disapproves  of  her  characteristics  and  interest  and 
conduct,  he  ought  either  to  keep  silent  or  leave  the 
city."  Said  I,  "  Is  that  your  opinion,  Hillard?"  He 
said  it  was.  I  told  him  that  that  principle  would  do 
in  a  club  or  in  a  society,  but  not  in  a  community  of 
equal  rights.  I  told  him  that  that  sentiment  came 
from  persons  who  thought  Boston  was  a  club  —  their 
club. 

July  17.  I  am  writing  up  my  journal,  sitting  at 
the  north  window  of  the  lower  room  at  the  shore, 
looking  out  upon  the  woods,  with  beautiful  floating 
clouds,  the  low,  tumbling  roar  of  the  surf,  and  the 
occasional  note  of  birds. 


1853.     THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.    239 

The  last  week  has  been  noted  chiefly  by  the  debate 
on  the  Judiciary.  The  committee,  Governor  Morton 
chairman,  reported  inexpedient  to  make  any  change 
in  the  appointment  or  tenure  of  judges.  Wilson 
moved  an  amendment  to  limit  the  term  to  ten  years, 
they  being  still  nominated  by  the  governor.  Dr. 
Hooper  moved  to  amend  that  b}'  making  them  elec- 
tive by  the  people  for  terms  of  seven  years.  On 
these  together  came  the  debate. 

I  spoke  early  and  under  most  favorable  circum- 
stances, about  the  middle  of  the  forenoon,  in  a  full 
house.  My  success  was  greater  than  I  could  hope. 
The  compliments  and  congratulations  were  overpow- 
ering. Choate  came  down  and  said,  "  Your  speech 
has  been  magnificent.  It  is  philosophical,  affecting, 
brilliant,  logical,  everything" —  I  stopped  him  and 
said,  "  Mr.  Choate,  this  is  too  much.  I  can't  bear 
it."  "  It  is  all  true.  It  is  such  a  speech  as  one 
hears  once  in  an  age."  .  .  . 

The  next  day  Choate  spoke,  and  in  his  most  bril- 
liant and  winning  manner.  He  commanded  undivided 
attention,  and  held  the  strings  of  the  affections  and 
understandings  of  the  audience  entirely  in  his  hands. 
It  was  one  of  the  great  efforts  of  his  life,  such  a 
speech  as  a  man  may  be  happy  to  have  lived  to  hear. 

The  question  was  taken  on  Hooper's  amendment, 
and  it  was  rejected  101  to  127.  Wilson,  Boutwell, 
Hallett,  etc.,  voting  against  it,  Butler,  Burlingame, 
Hooper,  Bates,  Bishop,  Hood,  Wood,  etc.,  in  its  favor, 
and  all  the  Whigs  against  it.  The  question  was  then 
taken  on  Wilson's  amendment,  and  to  our  no  greater 
surprise  than  relief,  after  a  neck-and-neck  race  on 
the  ayes  and  noes  for  half  an  hour,  it  was  rejected 
158  to  160.     The  rejoicings  and  congratulations  of 


240  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  38. 

the  Boston  members  and  the  conservative  men  gen- 
erally knew  no  bounds,  and  they  seemed  inclined  to 
give  the  whole  credit  of  the  victory  to  me.  It  is 
probably  true  that  my  position  gave  more  weight  to 
my  remarks  than  any  one  else  could  give.  .  .  .  Not- 
withstanding the  unremitting  clamor  of  the  Boston 
men,  ever  since  the  Convention  was  called,  that  we 
were  going  to  destroy  the  Judiciary,  when  the  ques- 
tion was  taken,  nearly  twenty  of  them  were  absent.  I 
told  Crowninshield  that  they  were  down  in  their 
counting-rooms  writing  articles  abusive  of  those  men 
who  were  saving  their  lives  and  fortunes.  .  .  . 

If  I  had  done  nothing  else  in  the  Convention,  I 
should  have  performed  a  valuable  service  in  getting 
through  the  resolve  respecting  a  registry  of  voters. 
It  was  my  original  idea,  and  no  one  else  thought  of 
it,  or  seemed  to  see  the  necessity  or  propriety  of  it. 
But  I  hope  it  may  be  the  means  of  keeping  the  ballot 
pure.  The  resolve  respecting  the  right  to  sue  the 
State  is  also  mine. 

August  2.  The  Convention  has  now  closed,  and 
our  long  work  ended.  Before  the  events  fade  in  my 
memory,  I  must  set  down  those  that  occurred  since 
my  last  entry. 

The  judiciary  question  was  considered  as  settled, 
and  many  of  the  reformers  told  me  they  were  sat- 
isfied with  the  result,  believing  it  better  as  it  was. 
But  the  newspapers  made  an  outcry,  I  mean  the 
"  Post "  and  a  few  of  the  Democratic  journals,  and 
some  began  to  fear  that  they  had  not  done  enough  to 
meet  the  reform  tendencies  of  the  Democracy.  Still, 
I  think  no  movement  would  have  been  made,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  animosity  of  J.  G.  Abbott  of  Lowell, 
against  the   Supreme  Court.     He  seemed  possessed 


1853.     THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.    241 

with  a  bitter  hostility  to  the  bench,  and  vowed  that 
he  would  revive  the  subject  if  no  one  else  did.  I 
talked  with  him,  but  it  was  plain  that  he  was  not 
open  to  reason.  Knowlton  of  Worcester,  who  was 
selected  to  make  the  motion,  is  not  a  lawyer,  and  is 
a  popular  man  with  those  it  was  most  desirable  to 
influence.  The  plan  was  this.  The  elective-judiciary 
men  numbered  about  125.  Some  twenty-five  of  the 
reform  members  were  opposed  to  any  change  in  the 
Judiciary.  Of  the  remainder  of  the  reform  party, 
some  seventy-five  in  number,  about  half  were  indif- 
ferent about  the  result,  though  ready  to  vote  for  a 
moderate  change,  while  the  other  half  were  decidedly 
of  opinion  that  some  change,  not  involving  an  election 
of  judges,  should  be  made.  The  radicals  would  not 
be  satisfied  with  a  ten-year  term,  under  executive 
appointment,  and  the  moderates  were  not  willing 
to  sustain  the  elective  principle.  They  accordingly 
compromised  upon  this  plan,  a  seven-year  term,  un- 
der executive  appointment,  but  to  be  confirmed  by 
the  Senate,  instead  of  the  Council.  This  would 
make  the  appointment  more  political  and  popular,  as 
the  Senate  consists  of  forty  members,  annually  elected. 
This  plan  was  brought  forward  by  Knowlton,  and 
supported  by  the  leading  men,  especially  by  Bout- 
well,  in  a  very  moderate  but  influential  speech.  I 
made  a  short  speech  against  the  Senate  provision, 
and,  I  think,  exhibited  the  inconveniences  and  ex- 
pense of  that  mode  of  confirmation  in  a  way  that 
could  not  be  answered,  and  gave  notice  of  a  motion 
to  strike  out  the  Senate  and  substitute  the  Council. 
When  it  became  in  order,  Davis  of  Plymouth  stole 
my  motion,  but  still,  as  the  case  was  a  clear  one,  the 
Senate  was  struck  out  by  a  large  majority.  .  .  .  The 


242  .        RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  38. 

next  attack  was  on  the  seven-year  term.  I  agreed 
with  Mr.  Morton,  Jr.,  that  he  should  make  the  mo- 
tion to  strike  out  seven  and  insert  ten  years.  Before 
he  could  get  the  floor,  Huntington  of  Northampton 
moved  to  strike  out  seven,  and  gave  notice  that  if  that 
succeeded  he  should  move  to  insert  ten.  This  mo- 
tion failed  by  a  small  majority.  Morton  immediately, 
with  a  good  deal  of  courage  and  tact,  moved  to  strike 
out  seven  and  insert  ten,  and  as  one  motion.  This 
was  objected  to,  as  out  of  order ;  but  it  was,  in  fact,  a 
different  motion  from  Mr.  Huntington's,  as  his  notice 
was  no  part  of  his  motion,  and  if  seven  was  struck 
out  any  other  number  might  be  put  in  its  place. 
Morton's  motion  was  unexpectedly  carried  by  a  bare 
majority.  Butler  sprang  to  the  floor  indignantly  and 
moved  a  reconsideration,  and  called  for  the  yeas  and 
nays  in  a  bravado  manner,  looking  fiercely  round  the 
House,  as  much  as  saying,  Now  we  '11  see  who  dares 
vote  against  the  plan  of  the  party;  and  during  the 
call  of  the  yeas  and  nays  he  was  very  busy  in  drum- 
ming up  voters.  Yet,  all  his  efforts  failed,  and  the 
reconsideration  was  lost.  Thus  we  got  back  to  the 
former  motion,  of  ten-year  term  with  the  usual  execu- 
tive appointment,  and  the  compromise  was  broken 
up.  Abbott,  Adams  (Lowell),  Butler,  Burlingame, 
Breed  and  the  other  elective-judiciary  men  imme- 
diately came  out  against  the  motion  as  before,  and  for 
the  first  half  of  the  call  we  thought  the  project  was 
defeated,  but  there  was  a  sufficient  rally  among  the 
lower  letters  to  carry  it.  So,  the  whole  judiciary 
effort  has  ended  in  changing  the  life  tenure  to  ten 
years  ;  a  change  that  gives  but  little  gain  to  popular 
power,  while  it  works  one  certain  evil,  it  subjects 
each  judge  to  the  temptation  or  the  suspicion  of  com- 


1853.     THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.    243 

mending  himself  to  the  executive  during  the  last  year 
or  two  of  his  term.  The  best  possible  thing  would 
have  been  to  limit  the  judiciary  office  to  seventy 
years  of  age,  and  left  the  tenure  as  before.  .   .  . 

The  chief  work  of  preparing  the  new  constitution 
fell  eventually  on  Governor  Boutwell  and  myself. 
It  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  thirteen,  and  by 
them  to  a  sub-committee  of  Boutwell,  Judge  Parker 
and  myself.  Judge  Parker  soon  gave  up  active  ex- 
ertion, as  he  was  in  a  minority  and  had  numerous 
engagements,  so  no  one  was  left  but  Boutwell  and 
myself.  We  found  that  two  could  work  better  than 
a  large  number,  so  we  did  not  fill  up  the  committee, 
but  got  help  when  we  needed  it,  and  every  day  or 
two  called  together  the  large  committee  for  confer- 
ence. •  We  derived  our  chief  aid  in  work  from 
Alvord,  M.  Morton,  Jr.,  and  Abbott,  with  occasional 
advice  from  Judge  Allen  and  others.  Nearly  every 
night  we  were  up  until  midnight  or  after,  beside  the 
hard  work  of  the  convention  all  day.  Saturday  night 
at  eleven  o'clock  we  found  there  was  eight  or  ten 
hours'  work  to  be  done  before  we  could  meet  the  con- 
vention Monday  morning,  and  Monday  was  fixed  for 
the  last  day  of  the  session.  There  was  no  escape 
from  a  Sunday  of  hard  work,  for  our  report  must  be 
in  the  printers'  hands  for  final  revision  before  ten 
o'clock  at  night.  Accordingly  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  the  work,  and  Sunday  a  little  after  nine  A.  M. 
went  to  the  Adams  House,  and  met  [some  of  the 
committee]  in  Governor  Boutwell's  room.  Gov- 
ernor B.  undertook  the  address,  I  took  the  consti- 
tution, to  compare  it  with  the  old  and  mark  out  the 
corresponding  passages  and  omissions  in  the  old,  and 
Alvord  reversed  the  process,  marking  the  passages 


244  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  ^Et.  38. 

in  the  new.  All  that  was  the  same  in  each  we 
crossed  out ;  what  was  similar  but  not  in  the  same 
form  and  manner  we  underscored  ;  and  what  was 
omitted  in  the  old  we  left  untouched  ;  what  was  new 
in  the  new  we  left  untouched.  In  this  way,  by  a 
painstaking  analysis,  we  made  sure  of  every  word 
and  phrase,  that  there  could  be  no  omission  or  repe- 
tition. We  took  separate  rooms.  I  had  Griswold 
for  a  reader,  and  Alvord  had  General  Whitney.  This 
work  employed  us  without  interruption  until  about 
five  P.  M.,  when  we  brought  our  reports  together,  com- 
pared them,  and  made  the  final  correction  and  arrange- 
ment for  the  last  proof  for  the  printers.  Griswold 
gave  out  by  the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  General 
Whitney  held  on  until  tea  time,  and  Alvord  gave  up 
at  seven  or  eight  o'clock.  Boutwell  and  I  kept  at  it, 
without  intermission,  until  10.30  P.  M.  During  the 
whole  of  the  intensely  hot  day  we  did  not  leave  our 
little  close  hotel  bed-chambers  from  nine  A.  M.  to 
10.30  P.  M.,  except  for  meals. 

At  10.30  we  went  to  the  printing  office  and  cor- 
rected proofs,  and  I  got  to  bed  at  midnight. 

Monday  morning  we  were  at  our  committee  room 
before  nine  o'clock,  and  at  10.15  our  report  was  in 
order,  the  corrected  copies  struck  off  and  circulated, 
and  the  debate  opened.  Boutwell,  as  chairman,  led, 
and  took  the  general  charge  of  the  report,  and  noth- 
ing could  have  been  better  done.  The  entire  result 
of  the  Convention  was  in  his  hands,  and  he  showed 
himself  abundantly  capable  of  carrying  it  through. 
His  self-possession,  thorough  knowledge  of  the  sub- 
ject, calmness  and  clearness  of  statement  and  explana- 
tion commanded  the  admiration  of  all.  If  there  was 
one  man  in  the  Convention  who  had  doubted  up  to 


1853.    THE   CONSTITUTIONAL   CONVENTION.    245 

that  point  his  leadership  and  his  right  to  it,  the  ques- 
tion was  put  beyond  a  doubt  that  day. 

The  chief  debate  was  on  Choate's  motion  to  submit 
the  judicial  tenure  separately  to  the  people.  It  was 
conducted  by  Choate  and  Lord  pro,  and  Boutwell  and 
myself  contra.  We  were  sustained  by  the  entire 
strength  of  the  vote  of  the  majority,  and  after  that 
tliere  was  not  much  contest.  Still,  the  passing  of 
each  article  and  chapter  in  review,  with  questions 
and  criticisms,  required  constant  attention.  Boutwell 
was  thoroughly  prepared  at  all  points,  and  was  not  in 
a  single  instance  taken  at  disadvantage.  Only  one 
error  was  discovered,  and  that  was  mainly  matter  of 
opinion,  to  wit:  —  whether  the  new  requirement  of 
citizenship  in  the  Governor  was  a  substitute  for 
seven  years'  residence,  or  additional. 

The  whole  business  closed  at  a  little  after  one  A.  M., 
making  fourteen  or  fifteen  hours  of  debate,  uninter- 
rupted except  for  dinner  and  tea,  an  hour  each. 
After  the  final  adoption  of  the  report,  Boutwell  read 
his  add  less,  and  we  took  up  the  pay-roll  and  passed 
it,  and  then  the  resolve  respecting  books  and  docu- 
ments. 

While  the  work  of  the  Convention  is  fresh  in  my 
mind  I  will  jot  down  my  own  particular  labors. 

In  the  committee  on  the  Bill  of  Rights,  I  brought 
forward,  drafted  and  carried  through  a  provision  giv- 
ing to  every  person  having  a  claim  against  the  State 
a  judicial  remedy  therefor.  I  endeavored  to  strike 
out  all  the  theorizing  about  the  social  compact,  and 
the  origin  of  government  in  the  preamble,  and  then 
substitute  the  simple  declaration  beginning  "  We, 
therefore,  the  people  of  Massachusetts."  For  this  I 
obtained  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  committee 


246  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  .Et.  38. 

present,  but  a  sufficient  number  of  absent  members 
voted  against  me  to  turn  the  scale,  seven  to  six,  and 
I  made  no  attempt  in  the  Convention,  with  a  minor- 
ity report,  on  a  theoretic  question,  and  let  it  go.  All 
but  three  of  the  committee  said  they  disbelieved  en- 
tirely in  the  social  compact,  and  would  not  put  it  into 
a  new  constitution,  but  a  majority  were  unwilling  to 
disturb  the  old  language  and  stir  up  people's  minds 
on  abstractions. 

I  introduced  a  provision  making  the  habeas  cor- 
pus a  writ  of  right  in  all  cases  where  the  Legislature 
does  not  especially  vest  a  discretion  in  the  court. 
This  failed  in  committee,  but  was  carried  in  conven- 
tion by  a  large  majority. 

The  provision  in  Chapter  9  Article  3,  requiring  a 
list  of  voters  in  all  elections,  was  solely  mine.  No 
one  else  thought  of  or  moved  in  it. 

The  provision  for  future  conventions,  Chapter  14 
Article  2,  was  mine. 

What  measures  I  advocated  and  opposed  the  jour- 
nal of  the  debates  will  exhibit ;  and  I  think  I  prepared 
my  full  half  of  the  chapters  of  the  constitution.  The 
Preamble  of  Bill  of  Rights,  General  Court  (I.),  Sen- 
ate (II.),  House  of  Representatives  (III.),  Qualifica- 
tions of  voters  and  elections  (IX.),  Oaths  and  Sub- 
scriptions (X.)  and  Revisions  and  Amendments 
(XIV.)  I  prepared,  and  assisted  in  others. 

This  Convention  has  settled  the  reputations  of  a 
good  many  men. 

[Rufus]  Choate  has  held  his  own.  What  more 
could  he  do?  He  has  shown  himself  the  brilliant, 
rich,  philosophical  orator,  the  scholar,  and  the  kindly, 
adroit  and  interesting  man.  He  has  not  commanded 
respect  as  a  man   of  deep  convictions,  earnest  pur- 


1853.    THE   CONSTITUTIONAL   CONVENTION.    247 

pose   and  reliable  judgment.     But  he  is  felt  to  be 
the  greatest  rhetorical  genius  of  the  day. 

[Charles]  Sumner  has  held  his  own  as  an  orator. 
He  has  made  two  beautiful,  classical,  high-toned  ora- 
tions, commanding  the  admiration  of  all.  As  a  de- 
bater, a  worker,  an  influential  member,  he  has  not 
succeeded.  He  takes  but  little  active  part,  and 
seems  to  have  a  fear  of  taking  the  floor,  except  on 
leading  subjects,  and  after  great  preparation.  But 
he  is  a  noble,  fine-hearted  fellow. 

[George  S.]  Boutwell  has  raised  himself  prodig- 
iously. He  is  the  only  man  (unless  my  friends  flat- 
ter me  extremely  by  making  me  a  second)  who  has 
eminently  gained  by  the  Convention.  He  is  the 
best  debater  in  the  House. 

[Henry]  Wilson  has  held  his  place  as  a  manager 
and  a  contriver  of  expedients,  and  a  feeler  of  the 
public  pulse.  He  has  shown  himself  a  good-natured, 
well -disposed  man,  with  no  personal  enmities.  I 
think  he  is  considered  by  his  political  opponents  a 
more  honest  man  than  they  were  disposed  to  regard 
him  ;  yet,  that  is  still  a  mooted  point.  If  any  ex- 
pected him  to  take  a  high  place  as  a  discusser  of 
leading  subjects,  they  are  disappointed.  He  also 
failed  in  the  chair  as  temporary  president.  He  was 
clumsy  and  forgetful  and  undecided.  .  .  . 

[Whiting]  Griswold  did  pretty  well  on  the  town 
question,  but  even  that  passed  out  of  his  hands,  the 
subsequent  speeches  being  better  than  his,  and  he 
was  soon  known  to  be  lazy,  and  not  a  man  to  cope 
with  subjects  that  required  labor  and  thought.  He 
went  pretty  much  to  the  wall. 

Judge  [Joel]  Parker  disappointed  everybody.  He 
showed  himself  an  honest  man  and  a  good  dry  tech- 


2^8  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  38. 

nical  lawyer,  but  he  discussed  questions  of  states- 
manship and  public  policy  on  the  narrowest  prece- 
dents, and  in  the  driest  manner.  He  was  not  listeiied 
to  after  his  first  speech,  except  from  courtesy.  He 
did  one  good  thing,  toward  the  close,  in  exposing  the 
terrible  defects  of  Hallett's  first  plan  for  amending 
the  Constitution.  This  was  a  matter  of  nice  detail, 
and  he  did  it  well,  yet  it  was  only  heard  by  those 
who  listened  attentively.  The  judge  persevered  in 
attention  to  business,  and  spoke  often,  yet  his  voice 
was  so  low,  and  his  manner  so  dry,  that  he  often  had 
but  some  half  dozen  listeners. 

Professor  [Simon]  Greenleaf  seldom  attended,  and 
spoke  but  twice.  Those  speeches  were  short,  agree- 
able in  their  manner  and  made  rather  a  favorable 
impression.  Their  defect  was  that  he  did  not  at  all 
throw  himself  into  his  subject,  or  into  the  hearts  or 
minds  of  his  hearers.  He  was  sketchy,  and  did  not 
go  near  the  bottom  of  matters.  Then  his  known  in- 
difference to  the  Convention  deprived  him  of  influ- 
ence. In  short,  the  two  learned  professors  from 
Cambridge  had  less  influence  than  the  two  mercan- 
tile members  from  the  same  town,  [Isaac]  Liver- 
more  and  [John]  Sargent. 

[George  S.]  Hillard  has  been  a  melancholy  fail- 
ure. He  is  the  only  man  who  goes  out  of  the  Con- 
vention with  a  stigma  to  his  name.  However  much 
he  may  have  meant  by  it,  certain  it  is  that  he  can 
never  get  over  the  "hand  that  feeds  us,"  and  his 
two  subsequent  speeches  have  shown  an  ill  nature 
and  bad  judgment  which  must  always  put  him  low 
in  the  estimations  of  men.  His  manner,  too,  is  that 
incorrigible  school-boy  manner  of  recitation.  It  is 
not  debate,  nor  address,  it  is  a  speech  spoken  at  a 
mark. 


1853.    THE   CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.     249 

[Anson]  Burlingame  made  two  declamatory 
speeches,  full  of  warmth,  glow,  animation,  high- 
sounding,  sympathetic  words,  telling  personal  ap- 
peals and  attacks,  but  without  substance  or  form,  or 
any  value  whatever  to  a  thinking  man.  He  has 
taken  no  part  beyond  these  speeches,  which  were  let 
off  at  random,  and  must  be  considered  as  having 
failed  in  everything  but  a  stirring,  wide-awake, 
stump  orator  style.  He  is  a  warm  -  hearted,  full- 
blooded  fellow,  and  everybody  likes  him  and  regrets 
that  he  will  not  think  or  study. 

[B.  F.]  Butler  has  behaved  quite  as  well,  perhaps, 
on  the  whole,  a  little  better  than  was  expected  of 
him.  He  has  not  been  ill-mannered  except  to  men 
who  have  fought  him  in  his  own  way,  or  men  against 
whom  he  has  an  old  hostility.  He  has  shown  great 
power  of  will,  strength  of  mind  and  industry.  Yet 
he  is,  as  Boutwell  says,  rather  a  cavalry  officer  than 
a  military  leader,  rather  a  case  fighter  than  a  jurist. 

[Josiah  G.]  Abbott  has  shown  talents  of  a  con- 
siderable order,  but  he  is  the  victim  too  much  of  his 
personal  feelings,  and  has  always  been  in  the  habit 
of  treating  questions  superficially,  for  temporary  ef- 
fect, in  a  narrow  circle,  and  has  not  enlarged  his 
mind.  .  .  . 

[F.  B.]  Crowninshield  spoke,  and  not  without  ef- 
fect, but  he  rather  disappointed  people  in  two  re- 
spects. He  was  superficial,  not  having  prepared 
himself  carefully,  or  thought  deeply,  and  he  showed 
a  good  deal  of  party  spirit.  Yet  all  think  him  an 
honorable  man,  and  a  man  of  good  judgment  and 
kind  feelings.  He  talks  better  than  he  speaks,  and 
his  feelings  are  kinder  than  his  expressions  in  debate. 

[Otis  C]  Lord  has  shown  marked  ability,  and  is  a 


250  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  ^Er.  38. 

formidable  debater;  but  he  is  little  if  at  all  above 
Butler  in  maimers  and  taste,  and  has  a  great  lack  of 
judgment.  Perhaps  his  position  in  a  hopeless  minor- 
ity encouraged  his  naturally  reckless  and  desperate 
temper.  .  .  . 

Governor  [George  N.]  Briggs  has  been  as  much 
the  leader  of  the  Whigs  as  any  one,  and  always  com- 
mands attention.  His  manner  is  of  a  kind  to  gain 
hearers,  having  an  appearance  of  simple  good  humor 
and  good  sense,  without  oratory,  which  tells  well  on 
a  mixed  audience.  Then  he  is  considered  an  honest 
man,  and  is  a  Baptist  deacon,  a  temperance  lecturer, 
etc.  Yet  there  is  a  little  of  palaver  about  him,  and 
the  Convention  doubted  whether  he  was  quite  so  ig- 
norant of  party  as  he  affected  to  be.  He  is  indolent, 
and  does  not  bring  to  bear  the  power  of  mind  he 
actually  possesses,  nor  make  any  research.  He  is 
sometimes,  too,  clumsy.  .  .  . 

[Sidney]  Bartlett,  of  Boston,  has  always  spoken 
well.  He  is  short,  pithy,  clear,  and  his  manner  is 
courteous,  and  he  is  known  to  be  free  from  personal 
animosities.  On  the  whole,  Bartlett,  who  is  an  un- 
popular man  in  the  city,  has  made  a  favorable 
impression  on  the  members  of  the  Convention,  par- 
ticularly upon  his  opponents.  He  has  not  taken  a 
prominent  part,  but  comes  in  occasionally  toward  the 
close  and  fills  up  gaps. 

November  20.  The  people,  at  the  election  on 
Monday  November  14,  rejected  the  new  Constitution 
b}'  a  majority  of  5,000  votes.  Three  causes  con- 
spired to  produce  this  result.  The  Irish  vote  was  all 
thrown  against  it,  under  the  lead  of  their  priests  and 
papers,  on  account  of  the  clause  respecting  secta- 
rian schools,  and  because  it  gave  political  power  to 


1853.    THE   CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.     251 

the  rural  districts.  The  innovation  on  the  Judiciary 
brought  out  Dr.  Palfrey,  C.  F.  Adams  and  Mr.  Hoar 
against  it,  who  lead  off  a  large  number  of  moderate 
Free  Soilers  and  of  men  not  partisans  ;  and  the  inter- 
ference of  the  Executive,  through  General  Cushing's 
letter,  against  the  coalition,  frightened  away  or  cooled 
down  many  of  the  Democrats.  On  the  whole,  I  do 
not  find  it  easy  to  determine  whether  I  am  most 
pleased  or  disappointed  with  the  result.  I  cannot  be 
too  thankful  for  the  preservation  of  the  Judiciary. 
If  the  Whigs  act  in  good  faith,  and  with  common 
discretion,  and  give  us  the  reforms  for  which  the 
Convention  was  called,  through  the  Legislature,  the 
question  of  constitutional  reform  can  be  put  at  rest 
for  twenty  years,  and  the  Judiciary  be  saved.  If 
they  do  not,  and  a  storm  is  raised,  there  will  not  be  a 
stick  left  standing. 

1854.  January.  Sunday  evening,  called  at  Long- 
fellow's, where  were  Tom  Appleton  and  George  W. 
Curtis  (the  Howadji),  and  had  a  very  pleasant  hour. 
Curtis  is  quite  clever  in  conversation,  but  Tom  is  the 
prince  of  rattlers.  He  is  quick  to  astonishment,  and 
has  humor  and  thought  and  shrewd  sense  behind  a 
brilliant  fence  of  light  works. 

With  the  opening  of  Congress  in  the  winter  of  1853-4, 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  of  Illinois  brought  forward  his  famous 
Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  effecting  a  repeal  of  the  Missouri 
compromise ;  and  in  an  instant  as  the  slavery  agitation 
sprang  into  new  life  the  Compromise  of  1850  vanished  into 
air.  A  period  of  intense  political  excitement  ensued,  which 
culminated  in  the  election  of  Lincoln  six  years  later.  The 
following  passages  from  the  diary  and  letters  relate  to 
Dana's  participation  in  the  first  stages  of  this  great  debate 
which  was  to  educate  the  country  up  to  the  mark  of  emanci- 
pation through  war. 


252  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  38. 

February  9.  The  Nebraska  question  is  now  the 
great  question  before  the  country.  I  wrote  a  short 
letter  to  the  New  York  meeting,  which  was  pub- 
lished. A  Free  Soil  convention  is  now  called  in 
Boston.  But  the  tone  of  the  North  is  so  lowered  on 
the  slave  question  that  it  cannot  be  brought  back. 
The  Whig  party  has  lost  its  tone,  the  Democratic 
party  never  had  any,  and  the  Free  Soil  party  has 
been  lowered  by  the  coalitions  and  managements  of 
[Henry]  Wilson  and  others,  until  it  has  lost  or  es- 
sentially impaired  its  power  of  doing  good.  The 
committee  of  the  Free  Soil  party,  under  the  belit- 
tling influence  of  [F.  W.]  Bird  and  Wilson,  issued  a 
call  for  a  Nebraska  convention,  containing  such  allu- 
sions to  the  defeat  of  the  late  constitution  as  to  ex- 
clude from  it  Dr.  Palfrey  and  Mr.  Adams.  If  they 
accept  it  as  an  exclusion,  I  shall  not  attend  myself. 
Our  convention  can  do  no  good,  and  may  do  harm  ; 
but  by  attending  it  under  such  circumstances  I  shall 
be  giving  my  sanction  to  the  exclusion. 

Boston,  February  12,  1854.     Sunday  evening. 

John  Jay,  Esq.,  New  York  ; 

My  dear  Friend,  —  Your  letter  came  while  I  was 
away  attending  court,  and  I  am  rather  late  in  reply- 
ing to  it. 

To  Massachusetts  belongeth  nothing  but  shame 
and  confusion  of  face.  The  Whig  party  has  been  so 
thoroughly  toned  down  on  the  subject  of  slavery  by 
the  efforts  of  1850,  1851  and  1852,  that  its  tone  can- 
not be  recovered  for  years,  if  at  all.  The  Democratic 
party  of  Massachusetts  was  always  a  mean  party, 
and  has  no  tone  to  lose.  The  Free  Soil  party  started 
gloriously  here   in  1848,  but  by  reason  of  its  coali- 


1854.     THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.    253 

tious  for  state  purposes  and  offices  it  has  fallen  under 
the  management  of  inferior  men,  has  lost  public  con- 
fidence, and  is  not  fit  to  do  the  great  task  before  it 
with  success. 

All  the  Whigs  express  disapproval  of  the  Nebraska 
bill,  but  take  no  action.  The  Democrats  differ  and 
are  paralyzed  by  the  Executive.  The  state  commit- 
tee of  our  party,  without  consultation,  called  a  party 
convention,  without  making  any  effort  for  a  general 
meeting.  It  is  now  too  late,  they  say,  to  alter  it. 
Not  only  so,  but  they  called  it  in  such  a  way  as  to 
render  it  doubtful  whether  those  gentlemen  who  op- 
posed the  constitution  can  attend,  Dr.  Palfrey,  Mr. 
Adams  and  others.  This  is  a  specimen  of  the  little- 
ness of  the  managers.  If  the  proscribed  men  do  not 
attend,  I  think  I  shall  not.  A  meeting  so  called  can 
have  no  effect.  Indeed,  a  meeting  of  our  party  alone 
is,  in  my  opinion,  of  little  use  and  of  doubtful  policy. 

I  shall  do  what  I  can  towards  a  general  meeting, 
but  I  have  little  hope  of  it.  The  Whigs  will  put  the 
opposition  on  the  ground  of  sustaining  both  compro- 
mises, and  I  doubt  if  we  could  unite  with  them  con- 
sistently. 

The  election  of  Fessenden  for  Maine  is  a  good 
omen. 

I  told  Mr.  Adams  of  your  plan  of  a  new  meeting 
to  declare  compromises  at  an  end,  and  to  take  up  the 
gauntlet.  He  approves  of  it.  If  it  means  a  war  be- 
tween pro- slavery  and  anti-slavery  in  the  states,  I  am 
not  in  favor  of  it.  For  I  am  not,  in  the  technical 
sense,  an  abolitionist.  But  if  it  means  war  against 
the  extension  of  slavery  into  new  territory,  the  ad- 
mission of  new  slave  states,  and  the  increase  of  the 
slave-power  in  the  government,  I  have  always  been 


254  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  38. 

ready  for  it  and  in  it.  It  looks  to  me  as  if  our  re- 
public was  now  a  slave-holding  and  slavery  propagat- 
ing and  defending  institution.  All  our  powers  are 
needed  to  meet  this  issue.  I  could  not,  either  on  pol- 
icy or  principle,  go  beyond  it. 

At  present  I  fear  we  can  have  no  effectual  vent 
here  for  opinion.  This  depresses  and  mortifies  us  in 
the  extreme.  I  have  some  hope  of  a  proper  expres- 
sion, but  not  much. 

February  19.  Sunday.  The  chief  event  to  me  of 
the  past  week  is  my  correspondence  with  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Free  Soil  party,  relative  to  the  conven- 
tion at  Faneuil  Hall. 

Boston,  February  14,  1854. 

S.  G.  Howe  and  others, 

Committee : 

Gentlemen,  —  It  is  some  days  since  I  received  your 
invitation  to  address  the  convention  on  the  17th  inst. 
I  have  delayed  my  answer  from  an  unwillingness  to 
come  to  the  conclusion  to  which  I  have  at  last  felt 
myself  compelled. 

The  question  before  us  involves  the  destiny  of 
states,  and  affects  the  cause  of  free  principles  in  our 
country  for  ages.  It  is  one  which  requires  a  united 
North,  and  the  sinking  for  the  time,  if  possible,  of  all 
party  and  local  differences.  I  know  that  the  tone  of 
Massachusetts  has  been  so  lowered  by  the  efforts  of 
1850,  1851  and  1852,  that  it  cannot  easily  be  recov- 
ered, but  I  cannot  believe  that  all  hope  of  public 
demonstrations  of  a  general  character  is  to  be  aban- 
doned. These  are  the  only  demonstrations  that  can 
have  much  effect  upon  the  action  of  Congress;  and 
while  these  are  possible,  exclusive  demonstrations  by 


1854.     THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.    255 

the  Free  Soil  party  seem  to  me  in  the  present  tem- 
per of  the  public  mind  to  be  injudicious.  If  this  be 
so,  what  shall  be  said  of  demonstrations  from  which 
some  of  the  most  useful  and  distinguished  even  of 
that  party  are  excluded.  You  are  aware  that  I  refer 
to  the  language  of  the  address  by  the  state  commit- 
tee and  other  events  of  a  significant  character,  some 
more  and  some  less  public,  preceding,  accompanying 
and  following  it.  By  these  causes  certain  gentlemen, 
who  have  done  at  least  as  much  as  any  to  create  and 
keep  in  influence  and  dignity  the  Free  Soil  party  feel 
themselves,  and  I  think*  properly,  excluded.  Had 
this  been  an  accidental,  transitory  or  personal  mat- 
ter, it  should  have  been  passed  over  at  such  a  time, 
at  least  by  others.  But  all  know  that  it  is  part  of  a 
system,  adopted  and  avowed,  having  relations  before 
and  after.  It  becomes,  then,  a  matter  of  importance 
to  each  man  and  to  the  party. 

When  I  held  a  seat  in  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion, I  felt  at  liberty  to  vote  against  my  party  when- 
ever duty  to  the  great  interests  at  stake  seemed  to  me 
to  require  it.  When  the  Constitution  was  proposed, 
I  spoke  and  voted  against  some  of  its  propositions, 
and  felt  myself  at  liberty  to  oppose  it  as  a  whole, 
without  forfeiting  my  place  in  the  Free  Soil  party. 
Some  of  your  number  will  recollect  that  we  agreed  at 
last  in  its  support,  with  some  doubt  and  on  a  balance 
of  reasons.  I  cannot,  therefore,  in  any  manner,  in 
justice  to  gentlemen  whose  balance  of  reasons  turned 
the  other  way,  or  in  duty  to  the  great  cause  in  which 
we  are  engaged,  countenance,  or  involve  myself  in 
the  support  of  such  a  system.  If  persevered  in,  it 
will  destroy  what  remains  of  means  of  usefulness  our 
party  possesses.     I  know  that  many  who  feel  as  I  do 


256  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  38. 

on  this  point  will  consider  it  their  duty  to  take  part 
in  the  meeting  notwithstanding.  As  I  shall  respect 
their  conclusions,  I  hope  they  will  respect  mine,  and 
that  this  will  be  the  last  time  that  a  narrow  policy  of 
some  shall  be  able  to  keep  us  from  joint  action  on  so 
great  and  wide  a  question.  So  far  as  its  effect  on 
the  Nebraska  law  is  concerned,  I  sincerely  hope  the 
meeting  may  be  successful  and  glorious. 

Lest  my  declining  to  attend  should  be  attributed 
to  lukewarmness,  I  wish  you  would  do  me  the  jus- 
tice to  make  public  this  letter. 

As  to  the  Nebraska  question,  two  considerations 
I  should  like  very  much  to  present  to  our  friends. 
First,  let  us  take  care  not  to  be  involved  in  the  sup- 
port of  the  legislative  compromises.  Far  better 
would  it  be  for  the  cause  of  freedom  that  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise  should  be  repealed,  and  a  new  bat- 
tle be  fought  at  the  organization  of  each  territory, 
than  that  we  should  be  induced  to  sustain  the  Com- 
promise of  1850.  It  is  reason  enough  for  us  that  the 
present  bill  seeks  to  remove  a  restriction  on  slavery 
of  thirty-four  years'  standing.  If  others  have  addi- 
tional reasons  for  opposing  it,  founded  on  compro- 
mises, we  rejoice  that  even  so  the  resistance  is  in- 
sured, but  let  us  be  careful  of  our  own  position  and 
language. 

Second,  let  us  look  back  and  see  how  steady  has 
been  the  advance  of  slavery  and  the  retreat  of  free- 
dom for  the  last  half  century.  In  1786  all  the  ter- 
ritories were  made  free.  In  1820  the  new  territories 
could  not  be  made  free,  but  were  divided  between 
freedom  and  slavery,  with  every  advantage  to  the 
latter.  In  1844  Texas  was  brought  in  with  slavery, 
and  in  1850  the  whole  of  the  remaining  territory  was 


1854.     THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.    257 

left  open  to  slavery.  In  1848  the  presidential  cam- 
paign could  not  be  conducted  in  the  North  on  either 
side,  except  with  Free  Soil  professions.  In  1852  it 
could  not  be  conducted  except  by  renouncing  them. 
The  sliding  scale  that  measures  our  declining  has 
been  applied  to  us  nearly  as  regularly  as  the  national 
census  is  taken,  but  now  they  say  to  us,  bow  down 
that  we  may  go  over !  But  the  most  humiliating 
part  of  the  whole  is  that  we  feel  the  North  deserves 
it  —  that  she  has  brought  it  upon  herself.  A  long 
course  of  subserviency,  for  political  purposes  in  some 
nnd  for  economical  advantages  with  the  greater 
bodies,  has  brought  us  into  a  condition  in  which  the 
advocates  of  slavery  venture  to  deride  our  once  pro- 
fessed principles,  those  in  which  we  are  bred,  and  on 
which  our  institutions  are  founded. 

The  hope  is  that  they  have  at  last  gone  a  step  too 
far,  that  the  cup  has  at  length  run  over,  and  that  the 
retroaction  so  long  looked  for  and  promised  has  be- 
gun, that  the  dim  eclipse  that  has  hung  over  our  half 
of  the  system  is  passing  off,  that  the  long  progress 
into  the  aphelion,  so  long  and  so  dark  that  it  seemed 
hopeless  of  aid,  has  at  length,  spent  its  momentum, 
and  that  we  are  even  now  returning  to  the  light  ajid 
warmth  of  the  sun. 

February  19.  The  chief  event  of  the  week  has 
been  the  anti-Nebraska  meeting  at  Faneuil  Hall, 
called  under  the  auspices  of  the  Whigs,  and  chiefly 
the  Webster  Whigs  —  the  1850  men.  The  true  re- 
port is  not  to  be  found  in  the  papers.  All  men  agree 
that  the  audience  were  far  ahead  of  the  speakers. 
All  attempts  to  get  up  applause  for  the  measures  and 
men  of  1850  failed,  and  even  Webster's  great  name 


258  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  38. 

fell  dead,  while  every  sentiment  hostile  to  the  Com- 
promise measures  of  1850,  and  everything  of  a  Free 
Soil  character,  went  off  with  rapturous  applause. 
The  first  thing  that  brought  down  the  house  was 
Winthrop's  saying  that  he  opposed  the  measures  of 
1850.  The  venerable  Mr.  Quincy,  the  oldest  mem- 
ber of  Congress  living,  the  oldest  mayor  of  Boston,  a 
Whig,  too,  was  not  invited.  But  he  came  and  was 
enthusiastically  called  out  by  the  audience,  and  re- 
ceived with  frantic  applause.  He  spoke  in  his  best 
manner,  the  thorough,  independent,  manly  character 
shining  out  through  every  word.  He  told  an  anec- 
dote of  Randolph.  He  said  to  R.,  "  If  you  push 
these  measures  much  farther,  you  will  produce  Union 
at  the  North."  "  Union  at  the  North  !  Union  at 
the  North !  We  can  count  on  you  Democrats  as 
surely  as  on  our  own  niggers." 

The  Compromise  men  feel  themselves  sold.  It 
comes  hard  to  them  to  use  the  Free  Soil  arguments 
and  vocabulary  so  soon,  and  to  be  a  standing  evi- 
dence of  the  truth  of  those  who  opposed  them. 

March  1.  We  have  begun  the  Federal  Street 
Church  case ;  but  there  are  to  be  no  arguments,  as 
Judge  Bigelow  only  intends  to  make  up  a  report  for 
the  full  bench.  Choate,  J.  C.  Adams  and  myself 
for  the  relators,  and  Bartlett  and  Hillard  for  the 
respondents. 

Choate  has  been  doing  more  work  at  the  bar  since 
last  October  than  any  man  at  our  bar  ever  did  before 
in  the  same  time.  Indeed,  I  doubt  if  there  are  many 
men  living  who  could  have  done  so  much,  and  all  of 
the  highest  character.  Did  any  one  ever  know 
Choate  to  lose  his  temper  ?  I  never  did,  and  have 
never  found  a  person  who  did. 


1854.     THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.    259 

27.  Monday.  Choate  having  been  confined  to  his 
house  for  several  days,  I  called  to  see  him.  I  found 
him  lying  on  his  sofa  and  in  low  spirits.  He  rallied, 
and  we  got  into  general  conversation.  It  turned  to 
the  sea,  and  we  spoke  a  good  deal  about  seamen. 
Born  on  the  sea-coast  of  Essex,  a  boy  in  the  war  of 
1812-14,  brought  up  amongst  sailors  and  fishermen, 
and  the  stories  and  legends  of  our  naval  actions,  pri- 
vateers and  the  Dartmoor  prison,  he  has  almost  been 
an  enthusiast  in  our  naval  history  and  glories.  I 
found  him  better  informed  than  I  was  on  the  details 
of  our  naval  actions,  although  I  have,  naturally 
enough,  made  them  a  study.  He  had  seen,  as  a  boy, 
from  the  Essex  hills,  the  Shannon  frigate  in  Ipswich 
Bay.  He  described  beautifully  the  great  frigate, 
lounging  about  the  bay  of  a  warm  summer  afternoon, 
and  standing  off  to  sea  at  night,  proudly  scorning  the 
fleet  of  fishing  boats  about  her.  He  had  seen,  too, 
the  funeral  of  Ludlow  and  Lawrence,  at  Salem,  when 
George  Crowninshield  brought  up  their  bodies  from 
Halifax  in  a  cartel,  and  Judge  Story  delivered  the 
eulogy.  He  said  he  never  got  over  the  effect  upon 
his  imagination  of  the  procession  of  sailors  and  offi- 
cers who  had  seen  fight,  who  had  been  in  action,  and 
some  of  the  great  naval  names  heading  them. 

He  said  he  had  talked  with  Morris  and  Hull  about 
the  action  of  the  Constitution  and  Guerriere.  He 
asked  Hull  if  he  felt  certain  of  taking  her,  when  he 
bore  down.  "By  no  means,"  said  Hull.  "Two 
thirds  of  my  men  were  foreigners,  and  more  than 
half  of  them  Britons.  When  the  Guerriere  ran  up 
the  British  ensign  and  lay-to  to  receive  us,  I  suffered 
a  few  moments  of  agony  which  no  tongue  can  ex- 
press.    I  expected  to  see  the  Englishmen  all   come 


260  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  2Et.  38. 

aft  and  demand  to  be  released  from  duty.  I  thought 
over  what  I  should  do,  —  whether  to  shoot  down  the 
first  man,  —  when  the  three  cheers  came  up  from  be- 
low, and  then  all  was  right,  and  I  had  not  a  fear  or 
doubt  from  that  moment." 

Morris  told  him  that  the  written  instructions  from 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Paul  Hamilton,  were  not 
to  fight  without  a  moral  certainty  of  victory.  When 
they  made  out  the  strange  sail  to  be  a  royal  frig- 
ate, as  they  thought  of  equal  size,  he  and  Hull  con- 
ferred together  aside,  whether  it  was  within  the 
letter  of  their  instructions  to  engage.  They  decided 
that  they  never  should  know  whether  they  could 
whip  her  until  they  tried,  and  put  the  instructions 
below. 

From  the  Constitution  and  Guerriere  we  passed  to 
other  actions,  and  I  was  astonished  by  the  accuracy 
of  his  knowledge  and  recollection.  I  thought  it  was 
the  fleet  that  chased  the  Constitution  into  Marble- 
head.  No,  it  was  the  Shannon  and  Tenedos,  and  he 
was  mortified  that  he  could  not  remember  who  com- 
manded the  Tenedos.  It  was  the  fleet  that  chased 
her  when  Hull  and  Morris  got  her  off  by  kedging. 
I  told  him  that  the  engagement  between  the  Hornet 
and  Peacock  was  in  a  heavy  sea,  and  reef-topsail 
breeze,  guns  half  under,  but  he  said  it  was  in  shoal 
water  and  calm  weather.  I  am  not  sure  he  is  right 
about  that. 

As  we  parted  he  expressed  his  gratification  at  my 
visit.  He  spoke  of  his  health,  and  said,  "  I  have 
worked  too  hard  this  winter,  harder  than  I  ever  did 
before. " 

"  You  have  worked  harder  than  any  man  ever  did 
before,"  said  I. 


1854.     THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.     261 

"  I  have  to  do  it  to  drown  sorrow,"  said  he,  "  as 
some  men  take  to  drink  or  gaming." 

This  is,  no  doubt,  true.  The  sad  illness  of  his  fa- 
vorite daughter  put  him  into  such  a  state  that  he 
seemed  to  have  no  other  alternative  than  incessant, 
absorbing  labor  or  despair. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

Shortly  after  six  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  24th  of 
May,  1854,  a  negro  named  Anthony  Burns  was  arrested  by 
a  deputy  United  States  marshal  near  the  corner  of  Brattle 
and  Court  streets,  in  the  city  of  Boston,  upon  the  charge  of 
breaking  into  and  robbing  a  jewelry  store.  The  moment 
the  arrest  was  made  a  gang  of  some  six  or  seven  men,  who 
had  been  lurking  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  rushed  to  the 
assistance  of  the  officer,  Butman  by  name.  Surrounding 
the  prisoner,  they  lifted  him  up  bodily,  and,  avoiding  the 
sidewalk,  carried  him  rapidly  down  the  middle  of  the  street 
to  the  court-house,  but  a  few  rods  distant,  at  the  entrance  of 
which  stood  the  United  States  marshal  with  a  drawn  sword 
in  his  hand,  evidently  awaiting  their  coming.  Without  paus- 
ing, or  even  allowing  the  prisoner's  feet  to  touch  the  ground, 
Burns  was  hurried  up  several  flights  of  stairs  to  the  jury 
room  of  the  United  States  court,  at  the  top  of  the  building. 

A  few  minutes  later  the  door  opened,  and  the  marshal  — 
Watson  Freeman  —  entered  the  room,  accompanied  by 
two  men,  —  the  one,  Charles  T.  Suttle,  the  other,  William 
Brent,  both  Virginians ;  the  former  being  the  claimant  of 
Burns. 

Stepping  towards  the  prisoner,  Colonel  Suttle,  taking  off 
his  hat  with  mock  politeness,  made  a  low  bow,  and  said  : 
"  How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Burns  ?  "  adding,  "  Why  did  you 
run  away  from  me  ?  " 

Burns  answered,  "  I  fell  asleep  on  board  of  the  vessel 
where  I  worked,  and  before  I  woke  up  she  set  sail  and  car- 
ried me  off." 


1854.        RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.        263 

"  Have  n't  I  always  treated  you  well,  Tony  ?  " 

To  this  question  Burns  made  no  answer. 

"  Have  n't  I  always  given  you  money  when  you  needed 
it  ?  " 

Burns  replied :  "  You  have  always  given  me  twelve  and 
a  half  cents  once  a  year." 

It  subsequently  appeared  that  Anthony  Burns,  the  man 
thus  arrested,  had  been  born  in  Stafford  County,  Virginia, 
about  the  year  1830.  His  mother  was  a  slave,  owned  by 
John  Suttle,  the  father  of  the  man  who  now  laid  claim  to 
him.  Burns  was  a  negro  of  more  than  usual  intelligence, 
and  had  taught  himself  not  only  to  read,  but  also,  after  a 
fashion,  to  write,  so  that  for  a  time  he  even  kept  a  sort  of 
school.  He  was  well  treated  by  his  owner,  who  trusted 
him  to  let  himself  as  well  as  other  slaves  out  for  hire.  In 
this  way  he  got  into  the  employ  of  one  Millspaugh,  and 
found  work  on  vessels  lying  at  the  wharves  in  Richmond. 
Having  long  had  a  design  of  effecting  his  escape  from 
slavery,  early  in  February,  1852,  he  stole  on  board  a  vessel 
at  one  of  the  Richmond  wharves,  and  there  concealing  him- 
self soon  fell  asleep.  When  he  awoke  the  vessel  was  well 
down  the  river,  and  at  the  end  of  two  days  reached  Nor- 
folk, where  she  lay  for  a  short  time,  and  then  started  for 
Boston.  Only  one  member  of  the  crew  knew  that  Burns 
was  on  board,  and  by  him  he  was  supplied  in  secret  with 
enough  bread  and  water  to  sustain  life ;  but  he  did  not 
leave  his  narrow  place  of  concealment  during  the  entire 
voyage,  which  lasted  three  weeks  and  was  rough  and  tem- 
pestuous. The  weather,  moreover,  as  the  vessel  went  north, 
became  so  cold  that  the  unfortunate  fugitive  barely  escaped 
freezing  to  death.  At  last,  either  late  in  February  or  early 
in  March,  the  vessel  made  fast  to  the  wharf  at  Boston,  and 
Burns  took  the  first  opportunity  of  slipping  unobserved  on 
shore.  Here  he  was  soon  provided  for,  and  presently  found 
employment  in  a  clothing  store  on  Brattle  Street  belonging 
to  one  Coffin  Pitts.  He  was  there  earning  his  living  at  the 
time  of  his  arrest. 


264  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  38. 

Since  the  rendition  of  Sims,  three  years  before,  a  great 
change  had  come  over  the  political  feeling  of  Massachusetts. 
Mr.  Webster  was  in  his  grave,  and  the  compromise  measures 
of  1850,  to  the  adoption  of  which  the  last  years  of  his  life 
had  been  sacrificed,  were  buried  with  him,  —  already  a 
confessed  and  utter  failure.  The  debate  over  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill  had  revived  and  intensified  the  anti-slavery 
agitation,  rending  in  pieces  the  two  great  parties,  one  of 
which  was  already  on  the  verge  of  dissolution.  In  Massa- 
chusetts the  Whigs  still  kept  up  an  appearance  of  strength  ; 
but  it  was  an  appearance  only,  for  a  few  short  months  later 
their  organization  almost  disappeared  in  a  moment,  swept 
away  in  the  vortex  of  Know-Nothingism.  From  the  elec- 
tion of  November,  1855,  it  ceased  to  be  a  power  which  had 
to  be  taken  into  account  in  the  politics  of  Massachusetts. 
Charles  Sumner  was  in  his  third  year  of  senatorial  life,  and 
Edward  Everett  had  recently  been  associated  with  him  as 
a  Whig  colleague.  In  Boston  conservative  traditions  still 
held  sway.  The  force  of  business  and  political  habit  was 
potent.  The  same  talk  of  devotion  to  the  Union  and  fidel- 
ity to  the  Constitution  was  current,  but  beneath  and  behind 
it  were  heard  ominous  mutterings  against  the  arrogance 
and  aggressions  of  the  slave-holding  South. 

Accordingly  the  announcement  that  another  fugitive 
slave  had  been  kidnapped,  and  kidnapped  within  sight  of 
Faneuil  Hall,  came  like  a  lurid  flash  of  lightning  from  amid 
these  gathering  clouds  of  a  lowering  political  sky.  There 
was  also  an  audacity  as  well  as  a  brutality  about  all  the 
proceedings  which  sent  a  thrill  of  anger  and  disgust 
through  the  State.  So  long  a  time  had  passed  since  the 
rendition  of  Sims  that  a  sense  of  security  had  come  to  be 
generally  felt;  the  supremacy  of  the  law  had  then  been 
vindicated,  but  it  had  also  been  made  apparent  that  slave- 
hunting  in  Massachusetts  was  a  dangerous  as  well  as  a 
costly  occupation.  Any  further  experience  of  the  sort  was 
therefore  looked  upon  by  all  classes  of  the  community  as 


1854.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.        265 

most    improbable,    when    suddenly    they    were    confronted 
with  it. 

The  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  the  fugitive  had  in  this 
case  been  issued  by  Edward  G.  Loring,  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  United  States  court,  but  also  the  judge  of 
probate  for  the  county  of  Suffolk,  and  as  such  one  of  the 
Massachusetts  judiciary.  Anthony  Burns  was  the  last  fu- 
gitive slave  ever  seized,  or,  in  all  human  probability,  ever  to 
be  seized  on  the  soil  of  Massachusetts,  and  every  incident 
connected  with  his  trial  and  condition  has  a  lasting  histori- 
cal interest.  Dana's  contemporaneous  record  of  his  part  in 
it  was  as  follows  :  — 

May  25.  Thursday.  This  morning,  at  a  little 
before  nine  o'clock,  as  I  was  going  past  the  court- 
house, a  gentleman  told  me  that  there  was  a  fugitive 
slave  in  custody  in  the  United  States  court-room.  I 
went  up  immediately,  and  saw  a  negro,  sitting  in  the 
usual  place  for  prisoners,  guarded  by  a  large  corps  of 
officers.  He  is  a  piteous  object,  rather  weak  in 
mind  and  body,  with  a  large  scar  on  his  cheek,  which 
looks  much  like  a  brand,  a  broken  hand  from  which 
a  large  piece  of  bone  projects,  and  another  scar  on 
his  other  hand.  He  seemed  completely  cowed  and 
dispirited.  I  offered  to  act  as  his  counsel.  He  said, 
"  It  is  of  no  use.  They  will  swear  to  me  and  get  me 
back ;  and  if  they  do,  I  shall  fare  worse  if  I  resist." 
I  told  him  there  might  be  some  flaw  in  the  papers,  or 
some  mistake,  and  that  he  might  get  off.  The  offi- 
cers told  him  he  had  better  have  counsel,  as  it  would 
cost  him  nothing  and  could  do  him  no  harm.  He 
seemed  entirely  helpless,  and  could  not  say  what  he 
wished  to  do ;  but  the  great  thing  on  his  mind 
seemed  to  be  the  fear  that  any  delay  and  expense  he 
caused  his  master  would  be  visited   upon  him  when 


266  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  38. 

he  got  back,  and  that  his  best  policy  was  to  conciliate 
his  master  as  best  he  could.  I  would  not  press  a  de- 
fence upon  him  under  these  circumstances,  but  felt  it 
my  duty  to  address  the  court  and  ask  for  a  delay.  I 
did  this  upon  the  ground  that  from  all  I  could  observe 
myself  and  from  what  I  had  heard  from  others,  it 
was  plain  that  he  was  in  no  condition  to  determine 
whether  he  would  have  counsel  or  not,  and  that  no 
court  would  proceed  to  a  trial  and  condemnation 
under  such  circumstances.  The  counsel  for  the  claim- 
ant, a  Mr.  Edward  Griffin  Parker,  objected  to  the 
delay  in  bad  taste  and  bad  judgment.  The  commis- 
sioner, Edward  G.  Loring,  at  my  private  suggestion, 
called  the  prisoner  to  him  and  told  him  what  his 
rights  were,  and  asked  him  if  he  wished  for  time  to 
consider  what  he  would  do.  The  man  made  no  reply 
and  looked  round  bewildered,  like  a  child.  Judge 
Loring  again  put  the  question  to  him  in  a  kind  man- 
ner, and  asked  him  if  he  would  like  to  have  a  day  or 
two  and  then  see  him  there  again.  To  this  he  re- 
plied faintly,  "I  would."  The  judge  then  ordered  a 
delay  until  Saturday. 

The  conduct  of  Judge  Loring  has  been  considerate 
and  humane.  If  a  man  is  willing  to  execute  the  law, 
and  be  an  instrument  of  sending  back  a  man  into 
slavery  under  such  a  law,  he  could  not  act  better  in 
his  office  than  Judge  Loring.  He  professes  to  detest 
the  law,  but  he  will  follow  the  rigid  construction  the 
courts  have  put  upon  it  as  matter  of  duty. 

The  claimant,  Colonel  Suttle  of  Richmond  or 
Alexandria,  Va.,  was  present,  and  sat  in  full  sight  of 
the  poor  negro  all  the  time.  I  could  not  get  over  a 
feeling  that  he  had  seen  cruel  usage.  His  scars,  his 
timid  and  cowed  look,  his  running  away,  all  seemed 
to  indicate  it. 


1854.        RENDITION   OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.       267 

Before  the  motion  was  passed  upon,  Freeman,  the 
marshal,  went  up  to  Judge  Loring  and  whispered,  to 
which  the  judge  replied,  "  No.  He  must  have  a  nec- 
essary time."  Freeman  whispered  again,  and  the 
judge  replied,  rather  sharply,  "  No,  sir.  I  shall  give 
him  all  reasonable  delays." 

May  26.  Friday.  As  the  negro  was  uncertain 
whether  to  make  a  defence  or  to  have  counsel  at  all, 
I  felt  that  it  was  improper  for  me  to  obtrude  myself 
upon  him.  If  any  were  to  advise,  it  should  be  others 
than  a  lawyer  who  had  once  offered  to  act.  At  my 
suggestion,  Rev.  Mr.  Grimes  and  Deacon  Pitts  (the 
clergyman  and  deacon  of  the  congregation  of  colored 
people)  and  Wendell  Phillips  asked  leave  of  the 
marshal  to  see  him.  This  was  refused.  They  asked 
him  if  it  would  be  of  any  use  to  obtain  an  order 
from  Judge  Loring  to  admit  them.  He  said  it  would 
not.  They  then  returned  to  me.  I  told  them  at 
least  to  compel  Mr.  Freeman  to  refuse  it,  and  wrote 
a  note  to  Judge  Loring  (who  was  at  Cambridge, 
lecturing  at  the  Law  School),  stating  to  him  that  I 
scarcely  felt  at  liberty  to  act  as  counsel  for  the  man 
and  was  unwilling  to  obtrude  myself  upon  him,  and 
that  the  proper  persons  to  see  him  and  ascertain  his 
wishes  had  been  refused  admission.  To  this  Judge 
Loring  responded  in  a  note  to  Freeman,  telling  him 
that  it  was  the  man's  right  to  see  a  few  friends,  and 
that  if  any  reasonable  number,  two  or  three,  wished 
to  see  him,  their  names  must  be  taken  to  him,  and 
their  purpose  stated  to  him,  and  if  he  desired  to  see 
them,  they  must  be  admitted. 

To  this  order  Freeman  yielded,  and  Phillips,  Mr. 
Grimes  and  Deacon  Pitts  were  admitted.  Phillips 
reported  to  me  that  he  was  a  much  more  intelligent 


268  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  38. 

and  resolute  man  than  they  supposed  him  to  be,  that 
he  could  read  and  write,  and  only  needed  a  little  en- 
couragement to  be  brought  out.  He  denied  entirely 
having  said  he  was  willing  to  go  back,  and  said  he 
knew  he  should  be  sold  to  the  New  Orleans  market, 
as  soon  as  his  master  got  him.  He  gave  them  a 
power  of  attorney  to  act  for  him,  and  desired  counsel 
and  defence. 

They,  as  his  attorneys,  engaged  me,  and  I  engaged 
Mr.  Ellis  to  aid  me. 

Our  first  step  was  to  apply  to  Judge  Sprague  to 
appoint  a  person  to  serve  a  writ  de  homine  replegi- 
ando  on  Freeman  in  behalf  of  the  negro.  The  law 
was  looked  up  and  the  papers  prepared  by  Judge 
Russell  and  Mr.  Sewall,  and  the  petition  presented 
by  them  and  myself.  We  put  it  upon  the  ground 
that  the  writ  was  an  ancient  common  law  writ,  to  en- 
force a  common  law  right,  and  showed  him  a  form  of 
writ  established  by  statute  in  Massachusetts  before 
the  passage  of  the  Judiciary  Act  of  1789. 

To  this  Judge  Sprague  replied  that  it  was  not  a 
writ  known  to  the  United  States  courts,  one  never  is- 
sued to  his  knowledge  by  those  courts,  and,  as  he  un- 
derstood it,  not  issuable  at  the  common  law  when  the 
party  was  held  under  legal  process.  We  replied 
that  it  did  not  appear  in  the  writ  that  he  was  held 
under  legal  process,  and  that  it  was,  on  the  face  of  the 
proceedings,  a  writ  of  right.  But  the  judge  refused 
the  writ,  after  stating  many  other  reasons,  on  the 
ground  of  its  not  being  a  writ  known  to  that  court. 
He  added  that  if  the  writ  was  issued  it  would  con- 
tain the  clause  that  it  was  not  to  be  served  if  the 
part}7"  was  held  by  legal  process  and  could  do  no 
good. 


1854.       RENDITION   OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.         2G9 

I  had  not  sufficiently  examined  the  subject  to  give 
an  opinion,  but  it  rather  seemed  to  me  that  we  were 
entitled  to  the  writ  valeat  quantum. 

After  this  decision,  at  about  six  o'clock  P.  M.  I 
went  up  to  see  the  fugitive.  He  was  confined  in  a 
small  room,  in  the  third  story,  west  end  of  the  court- 
house, with  some  six  or  eight  men  in  the  room  with 
him.  The  men  were  of  the  rough,  thief-catching 
order,  and  were  smoking  and  playing  cards.  I  with- 
drew to  a  window  and  talked  quietly  with  the  man. 
He  appeared  a  very  different  man  from  what  he  was 
the  day  before.  He  seemed  self-possessed,  intelli- 
gent, and  with  considerable  force  both  of  mind  and 
body.  His  hand  had  been  broken  in  a  saw-mill,  he 
told  me,  and  his  face  was  scarred  by  a  burn.  He 
said  that  he  had  not  lived  with  his  master  since  he 
was  seven  years  old,  but  had  always  been  hired  out 
by  him.  That  his  master  had  offered  him  for  sale, 
and  he  knew  very  well  that  if  he  was  delivered  up 
he  would  never  see  Alexandria  again,  but  would  be 
taken  to  the  first  block  and  sold  for  the  New  Orleans 
market.  He  said  that  there  he  might  be  put  to  some 
new  work  he  was  not  accustomed  to,  and  be  badly 
treated  for  not  doing  it  well.  He  was  in  fear  of  his 
master,  who,  he. said,  was  a  malicious  man  if  he  was 
crossed. 

To-night  a  great  meeting  is  to  be  held  at  Faneuil 
Hall.  There  is  a  strong  feeling  in  favor  of  a  rescue, 
and  some  of  the  abolitionists  talk  quite  freely  about 
it.  But  the  most  remarkable  exhibition  is  from  the 
Whigs,  the  Hunker  Whigs,  the  Compromise  men  of 

1850.  Men  who  would  not  speak  to  me  in  1850  and 

1851,  and  who  enrolled  themselves  as  special  police- 
men in  the  Sims  affair,  stop  me  in  the  street  and  talk 


270  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  38. 

treason.  This  is  all  owing  to  the  Nebraska  bill.  I 
cannot  respect  their  feeling  at  all,  except  as  a  return 
to  sanity.     The  Webster  delusion  is  passing  off. 

Amos  A.  Lawrence  called  to  offer  any  amount  of 
retainer  to  enable  me  to  employ  some  eminent  Whig 
counsel.  He  said  he  was  authorized  to  do  this  by  a 
number  of  active  1850  men,  who  were  determined  it 
should  be  known  that  it  was  not  the  Free  Soilers 
only  who  were  in  favor  of  the  liberation  of  the  slaves, 
but  the  conservative,  compromise  men. 

In  this  suggestion  I  called  on  Judge  Fletcher  and 
Mr.  Choate.  Judge  Fletcher  said  that  his  sym- 
pathies were  with  us,  and  if  there  should  be  a  rescue, 
he  would  not  lift  a  finger  to  prevent  it,  but  that  he 
was  under  an  especial  engagement  with  the  Reporter 
which  did  not  leave  him  an  option  as  to  his  time. 

Choate  I  had  an  amusing  interview  with.  I  asked 
hitn  to  make  one  effort  in  favor  of  freedom,  and  told 
him  that  the  1850  delusion  was  dispelled,  and  all 
men  were  coming  round,  the  Board  of  Brokers  and 
Board  of  Aldermen  were  talking  treason,  and  that  he 
must  come  and  act.  He  said  he  should  be  glad  to 
make  an  effort  on  our  side,  but  that  he  had  given 
written  opinions  against  us  in  the  Sims  case  on  every 
point,  and  that,  he  could  not  go  against  them. 

"You  corrupted  your  mind  in  1850." 

"  Yes.     Filed  my  mind." 

"I  wish  you  would  file  it  in  court,  for  our  benefit." 

Mr.  Charles  G.  Loring  was  out  of  town,  and  there 
was  no  one  else  that  1  thought  would  answer  Mr. 
Lawrence's  description. 

May  27.  Saturday.  Last  night  an  attempt  was 
made  to  rescue  the  slave.  It  was  conducted  by 
a  few  and  failed  for  want  of  numbers,  the  greater 


1854.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.         271 

part  being  opposed  to  an  action  then.  They  broke 
in  a  door  of  the  court-house  and  a  few  of  them  en- 
tered, but  they  were  not  supported.  They  killed 
one  man,  a  truckman  named  Batchelder,  who  has  vol- 
unteered three  times  to  assist  in  catching  and  keep- 
ing slaves,  and  the  officers  retreated.  But  the  men 
who  entered  were  at  first  driven  back,  and  the  crowd 
thought  themselves  repulsed  and  retreated  also. 
The  men  who  went  in  first  were  wounded,  and  on 
being  driven  out,  they  found  that  the  crowd  outside 
had  deserted  them.  The  leader  of  this  mob,  I  am 
surprised  to  hear,  in  secrecy,  was  Rev.  T.  W.  Hig- 
ginson  of  Worcester.  I  knew  his  ardor  and  courage, 
but  I  hardly  expected  a  married  man,  a  clergyman, 
and  a  man  of  education  to  lead  the  mob.  But 
Theodore  Parker  offered  to  lead  a  mob  to  the  rescue 
of  Sims,  if  one  hundred  men  could  be  got  to  enroll 
themselves,  but  they  could  not  get  thirty. 

Robert  Carter  tells  me  that  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Howe 
offered  to  lead' a  mob  of  two  hundred  to  storm  the 
court-house,  and  that  it  would  probably  have  been 
done  had  not  Higginson's  attempt  led  the  marshal  to 
call  out  the  military. 

Immediately  after  this  mob,  the  marshal  sent  for 
a  company  of  United  States  marines  from  Charles- 
town,  and  a  company  of  artillery  from  Fort  Inde- 
pendence. The  mayor,  too,  ordered  out  two  or  three 
companies  of  volunteer  militia  to  keep  the  peace, 
but  not  to  aid  in  the  return  of  the  slave. 

The  hearing  began  at  ten  o'clock.  The  court- 
house was  filled  with  hireling  soldiers  of  the  stand- 
ing army  of  the  United  States,  nearly  all  of  whom 
are  foreigners.  The  lazy  hounds  were  lounging  all 
d«y  out  of  the  windows,  and  hanging  over  the  stairs, 


272  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  J&r.  38. 

but  ready  to  shoot  down  good  men  at  a  word  of  com- 
mand. Some  difficulties  occurred  between  them  and 
the  citizens,  but  nothing  very  serious. 

Mr.  Ellis  moved  for  a  delay  until  Monday,  and 
made  a  few  remarks  in  support  of  the  motion.  E.  G. 
Parker  and  S.  J.  Thomas  followed,  opposing  it. 
Their  worst  enemy  could  not  have  marked  out  for 
them  a  worse  course  of  remark  than  they  followed. 
They  seemed  to  be  playing  into  my  hands  all  the 
while,  saying  the  very  things  that  I  wished  them  to 
say.  Then  the  timid  manner  of  Parker,  who  seemed 
ashamed  of  what  he  was  doing,  and  the  petty,  mean 
voice  and  manner  of  Thomas  were  the  best  foils  I 
could  have  desired.  I  made  a  full  reply,  and  never 
spoke  more  to  my  satisfaction  in  my  life.  I  am  quite 
mistaken  if  the  general  sentiment  of  the  house  was 
not  with  me,  though  it  was  packed  writh  the  creatures 
of  Freeman.  They  all  felt  ashamed  of  the  appear- 
ance of  their  counsel.  The  commissioner  granted  the 
adjournment. 

In  the  evening  I  telegraphed  to  Attorney  General 
Clifford,  offering  him  a  retainer,  but  he  replied  [de- 
clining because  of]  a  professional  engagement  at 
Springfield. 

This  evening  I  met  Rev.  Mr.  Grimes  and  Mr. 
Williams  (Glidden  &  W.)  collecting  a  subscription 
to  buy  the  man's  freedom.  They  had  then  obtained 
a  subscription  to  the  amount  of  1700.  The  price 
asked  was  11,200. 

The  slave  told  me  that  his  life  had  been  insured  at 
$800,  when  he  was  in  Richmond,  from  which  he  sup- 
posed lie  was  valued  at  about  $1,000.  It  was  a  new 
language  to  hear  a  man  estimating  his  own  value  by 
the  rate  at  which  his  owners  insured  him. 


1854.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.         273 

The  trial  of  the  Burns  case  occupied  all  day  of 
Monday,  Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  29  th,  30th  and 
31st  of  May.  Each  day  the  court- room  was  filled 
with  the  United  States  marshal's  "guard"  as  he 
called  them,  a  gang  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
men,  the  lowest  villains  in  the  community,  keepers 
of  brothels,  bullies,  blacklegs,  convicts,  prize-fighters, 
etc.  Mr.  Andrews,  the  ex- jailer,  says  that  he  finds 
forty-five  men  among  them  who  have  been  under  his 
charge  at  various  times.  Among  them  is  Louis 
Clark,  a  Portuguese,  who  keeps  a  famous  brothel  and 
has  been  engaged  in  several  desperate  fights,  Albert 
J.  Tyrrell,  the  murderer,  a  man  who  robbed  Currier 
&  Grott's  jewelry  shop,  etc.  These  are  all  armed 
with  revolvers  and  other  weapons  and  occupy  the 
rows  of  seats  behind  the  bar  and  the  jury  seats.  A 
corps  of  marines  from  the  navy  yard,  about  sixty  in 
number,  commanded  by  Major  Dulany  and  two  com- 
panies of  United  States  Artillery,  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  men,  commanded  by  Ridgely,  occupy  the 
court-house  and  guard  all  the  passages  with  loaded 
guns  and  fixed  bayonets.  To  reach  the  court-room 
one  has  to  pass  two  or  three  cordons  of  police,  and  two 
of  soldiers.  Personally  I  have  been  well  treated,  and 
all  whom  I  desire  to  have  admitted  have  been  ad- 
mitted ;  but  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of  rudeness 
and  violence  to  others.  In  one  instance  a  sergeant 
or  corporal,  in  command  of  a  guard  at  the  foot  of  the 
stairs,  ordered  his  men  tot  charge.  They  did  so  in 
good  earnest  and  drove  the  people  down  the  entry, 
and  it  seemed  to  me,  who  had  just  passed  them,  a 
wonder  that  some  were  not  run  through.  I  saw 
plainly  that  the  sergeant  was  drunk,  and  called  to 
me  young  Dunbar,  a  very  civil  fellow  who  had  charge 


274  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  38. 

of  the  entry  under  Freeman,  and  pointed  the  man 
out  to  him.  He  acknowledged  that  the  man  was 
drunk,  and  apologized  for  it,  saying  that  he  had  just 
come  upon  the  post,  and  immediately  reported  the 
fact  to  the  officer  of  the  day.  There  were  frequent 
instances  of  men  prohibited  from  going  into  the 
courts  of  the  state,  and  no  one  was  permitted  to  en- 
ter the  court-house,  judges,  jurors,  witnesses  or  liti- 
gants, without  satisfying  the  hirelings  of  the  United 
States  marshal  that  they  had  a  right  to  be  there. 
All  this  time  there  were,  or  attempted  to  be,  in  ses- 
sion in  the  building,  the  Supreme  and  Common  Pleas 
Courts  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  Justices'  and  Police 
Courts  of  Boston.  In  most  cases  these  courts  ad- 
journed for  want  of  business.  Thus  the  judiciary 
of  Massachusetts  has  been  a  second  time  put  under 
the  feet  of  the  lowest  tribunal  of  the  federal  judici- 
ary in  a  proceeding  under  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 
Judge  Shaw,  who  held  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court, 
is  a  man  of  no  cournge  or  pride,  and  Judge  Bishop, 
who  held  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  is  a  mere  party 
tool,  and  a  bag  of  wind  at  that.  It  was  the  clear  duty 
of  the  court  to  .summon  before  it  the  United  States 
marshal  to  show  cause  why  he  should  not  be  com- 
mitted for  contempt,  and  to  commit  him,  if  it  re- 
quired all  the  bayonets  in  Massachusetts  to  do  it, 
unless  he  allowed  free  passage  to  all  persons  who  de- 
sired to  come  into  either  of  the  courts  of  the  State. 

Beside  the  general  "  guard "  which  the  marshal 
had  to  keep  his  prisoner,  there  was  a  special  guard 
of  Southern  men,  some  of  them  law  students  from 
Cambridge,  who  sat  round  Colonel  Snttle  and  went 
in  and  out  with  him. 

If  the  claimant's  counsel   had  merely  put  in  his 


1854.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.        275 

record  and  introduced  evidence  to  prove  that  the 
prisoner  was  the  person  named  in  the  record,  we 
should  have  had  no  defence  except  the  constitutional 
objections,  which,  of  course,  Judge  Loring  would 
overrule,  and  my  two  points  of  objection  to  the  ad- 
missibility of  the  record,  1st,  that  it  was  a  mere 
recital  that  there  was  a  record  and  not  a  record  itself 
and  2d,  that  it  did  not  contain  a  sufficient  description 
of  the  men  ;  for,  by  this  cruel  statute,  if  the  record 
is  admitted  it  is  conclusive  as  to  every  fact  but  that 
of  identity.  But  they  set  out  to  prove  the  facts  of 
slavery  and  escape  also  by  parol,  by  the  evidence  of 
one  Brent.  Brent's  testimony  showed  that  at  the 
time  of  the  alleged  escape  Burns  was  regularly  leased 
to  one  Millspaugh,  and  was  under  his  control,  and 
even  that  Colonel  Suttle's  reversionary  interest  was 
mortgaged.  His  testimony  also  showed,  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  commissioner  (as  I  learn  privately) 
and  of  all  lawyers,  that  there  had  been  no  escape. 
If,  therefore,  the  record  was  not  admissible,  and  the 
case  had  stood  on  the  oral  proof,  they  would  have 
failed  to  prove  the  right  of  Suttle  to  the  possession, 
and  the  fact  of  escape.  This  raised  the  serious  ques- 
tion whether  the  record  was  sufficiently  in  form  to  be 
received,  and  whether  it  could  be  conclusive  against 
evidence  put  in  by  the  claimant  himself.  I  also 
made  the  point  that  by  offering  parol  proof  of  title 
and  escape,  the  claimant  must  be  considered  as  pro- 
ceeding under  the  sixth  section  of  the  act,  and  not 
under  the  tenth.  In  moving  an  escape  by  parol  they 
proved  that  Burns  was  in  Richmond  on  the  20th 
March.  We  introduced  strong  and  clear  evidence 
that  he  was  here  on  the  1st  March  and  so  on  to  this 
time.     This  gave  us  a  point  on  the  identification. 


276  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  38. 

My  argument  was  on  Wednesday  and  lasted  four 
hours.  I  spoke  entirely  to  my  own  satisfaction. 
My  friends  say  it  is  the  best  speech  I  ever  made. 
Even  the  " guard"  were  somewhat  affected  by  it, 
and  many  of  them  said  they  wished  the  man  would 
get  off. 

Judge  Loring  paid  great  attention  to  all  that  re- 
lated to  the  identity,  but  took  no  notes  of  my  points 
as  to  the  record,  the  escape  and  the  title.  This  puz- 
zled me  a  good  deal.  .  .  . 

Jane  1.  Thursday.  I  spent  all  day  at  home  writ- 
ing out  my  argument  for  the  newspapers.  My  whole 
brief  was  on  the  sides  of  a  piece  of  small  note-paper, 
and  consequently  I  was  obliged  to  write  from  recol- 
lection. 

2.  Friday.  This  was  a  day  of  intense  excite- 
ment and  deep  feeling  in  the  city,  in  the  State  and 
throughout  New  England,  and  indeed  a  great  part 
of  the  Union.  The  hearts  of  millions  of  persons 
were  beating  high  with  hope,  or  indignation,  or 
doubt.  The  mayor  of  Boston,  who  is  a  poor  shoat,  a 
physician  of  a  timid,  conceited,  scatter-brain  char- 
acter, raised  by  accident  to  a  mayoralty,  has  vacil- 
lated about  for  several  days,  and  at  last  has  done 
what  a  weak  man  almost  always  does,  he  has  gone  too 
far.  He  has  ordered  out  the  entire  military  force  of 
the  city,  from  1,500  to  1,800  men,  and  undertaken 
to  place  full  discretionary  power  in  the  hands  of 
General  Edmunds.  These  troops  and  the  three  com- 
panies of  regulars  fill  the  streets  and  squares  from 
the  court-house  to  the  end  of  the  wharf,  where  the 
revenue  cutter  lies,  in  which  it  is  understood  that 
Burns,  if  remanded,  will  be  taken  to  Virginia. 

The  commissioner  entered  the  court  -  room  punc- 


1854.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.        211 

tually  at  nine  o'clock.  I  went  to  the  marshal  and 
asked  him  if  he  knew  what  the  decision  was  to  be. 
He  said  he  did  not.  I  told  him  that  if  the  decision 
was  in  favor  of  the  prisoner,  I  proposed  to  give  him 
my  arm  and  conduct  him  through  the  guards  and 
soldiers  into  the  street.  Freeman  replied  that  he 
would  prefer  to  clear  the  square  first,  and  assured 
me  that  if  the  man  was  discharged  he  should  serve 
no  other  precept  upon  him. 

The  decision  was  short.  It  took  no  notice  of  the 
objections  to  the  admissibility  or  effect  of  the  record, 
but  simply  declared  it  to  be  conclusive  as  to  title  and 
escape,  and  said  that  the  only  point  before  him  was 
that  of  identity.  On  this,  upon  the  evidence  of  wit- 
nesses, there  was  so  much  doubt  that  he  could  not 
decide  the  question,  and  would  be  obliged  to  dis- 
charge the  prisoner.  In  this  dilemma,  he  resorted  to 
the  testimony  of  Brent  as  to  the  admissions  made  by 
the  prisoner  to  Colonel  Suttle  on  the  night  of  his  ar- 
rest, which  he  considered  as  establishing  the  identity 
beyond  a  reasonable  doubt,  and  on  these  admissions 
he  was  convicted.  Convicted  on  an  ex  parte  record, 
against  the  actual  evidence,  and  on  his  own  admis- 
sions made  at  the  moment  of  arrest  to  his  alleged 
master !     A  tyrannical  statute  and  a  wTeak  judge  ! 

The  decision  was  a  grievous  disappointment  to  us 
all,  and  elderly  to  the  poor  prisoner.  He  looked  the 
image  of  despair. 

The  court-room  was  ordered  to  be  cleared  at  once 
of  all  but  the  prisoner  and  the  "guard."  I  remained 
with  the  prisoner,  and  so  did  Mr.  Grimes,  the 
preacher.  We  remained  in  the  court-room  a  full 
hour,  in  company  with  the  prisoner,  and  this  horrible 
pack,  the  "guard."     Mr.  Grimes  talked  constantly 


278  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi   38. 

with  the  prisoner,  and  kept  up  his  spirits  ;.s  he  best 
could.  He  told  him  he  thought  that  it  was  only  a 
point  of  honor  with  the  Government  and  the  slave- 
holders to  take  him  to  Virginia,  and  that  he  would 
be  bought  as  soon  as  he  arrived  there.  This  cheered 
him.  He  expressed  some  fear  lest  he  should  be  for- 
gotten, and  said  that  if  sold,  with  his  weakened  right 
hand,  he  would  be  sold  "  down  the  river,"  and  being 
put  to  some  new  work,  to  which  he  was  unaccus- 
tomed, would  be  ill-treated.  This  was  what  induced 
him  to  run  away.  Suttle  offered  him  for  sale,  but 
got  no  bidder  on  account  of  the  state  of  his  hand. 
Suttle  was  afraid  he  might  become  useless  and  be  left 
on  his  hands,  and  Burns  knew  he  would  be  sold  at 
any  price. 

Mr.  Thayer,  of  the  "  New  York  Evening  Post,"  re- 
mained in  the  room  a  few  minutes,  and  we  observed 
the  character  and  conduct  of  the  guard.  Some  of 
them  lay  down,  and  got  tumbling  and  quarrelling,  and 
others  came  into  the  bar,  and  sat  at  full  length  on 
chairs.  All  had  their  hats  on,  and  such  a  set  of  de- 
bauched, vulgar,  out  la  wish  looking  fellows  I  never 
beheld. 

At  about  eleven  o'clock  Burns  was  led  back  to  his 
room.  Mr.  Grimes  and  I  went  with  him,  and  re- 
mained a  few  minutes.  I  told  him  I  should  accom- 
pany him  to  the  cutter,  and  Mr.  Grimes  offered  to 
go  with  us  also. 

I  told  the  marshal  of  our  intention  to  go  down  with 
Burns.  He  objected.  I  told  him  that  it  was  a  privi- 
lege always  allowed  to  a  criminal  going  to  execution 
that  his  clergyman  and  counsel  should  go  with 
him,  and  strongly  advised  him  not  to  refuse  it.  He 
took  time  to  consider  it,  and  consulted  with  others, 


1854.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.        279 

and  brought  us  word  positively  that  it  could  not  be 
permitted.  We  then  said  we  would  go  and  take  our 
leave  of  him  in  his  room.  We  went  up,  and  began 
speaking  with  him,  at  the  window,  as  heretofore, 
when  three  of  the  keepers  (one  of  whom  was  the  no- 
torious Byrnes  —  "  Augur  Hole  Byrnes")  came  up 
and  stood  by  our  side  to  listen  to  the  conversation. 
I  asked  Mr.  True,  who  had  charge  of  the  room,  to 
order  them  to  leave  us,  as  they  had  always  done  be- 
fore. In  all  our  prior  interviews  we  had  seen  him  at 
the  window,  and  the  keepers  had  withdrawn  to  the 
other  end,  so  that  we  could  talk  without  being  over- 
heard, as  had  been  settled  between  Mr.  Phillips  and 
the  marshal.  Mr.  True  replied  that  the  marshal  had 
issued  a  new  order  that  all  conversation  with  the  pris- 
oner must  be  in  the  hearing  of  the  keepers.  I  asked, 
pointing  to  the  three  keepers  who  stood  by,  "  Is  the 
order  that  I  must  be  overheard  by  this  man,  and  this 
man,  and  this  man  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir.     Those  are  the  orders." 

"  I  shall  hold  no  conversation  in  such  company.  I 
shall  not  consent  to  hold  any  conversation  with  the 
prisoner  on  such  terms." 

The  officer  said  he  was  sorry,  but  must  obey  his 
orders. 

I  then  advanced  to  Burns,  gave  him  my  hand,  told 
him  that  I  could  not,  in  self-respect,  converse  with 
him  on  such  terms,  told  him  also  that  the  marshal  had 
prohibited  our  going  down  with  him,  and  bade  him 
good-by.  He  thanked  me  warmly  for  all  I  had  done 
for  him,  and  said  he  had  no  doubt  all  had  been  done 
that  could  be  done.  Mr.  Grimes  also  followed  suit, 
and  took  leave  of  him,  bidding  him  trust  and  hope  in 
God,  and  giving  him  his  address  and  that  of  Deacon 
Pitts,  that  he  might  write  to  them,  if  permitted. 


230  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  38. 

Mr.  Grimes  and  I  walked  to  and  fro  in  front  of  the 
conrt-house  for  an  hour  or  so,  the  entire  square  being 
cleared  of  the  people,  and  filled  with  troops.  Every 
window  was  filled,  and  beyond  the  lines  drawn  by  the 
police  was  an  immense  crowd.  Whenever  a  body  of 
troops  passed  to  or  fro,  they  were  hissed  and  hooted  by 
the  people,  with  some  attempts  at  applause  from  their 
favorers.  Nearly  all  the  shops  in  Court  and  State 
streets  were  closed  and  hung  in  black,  and  a  huge 
coffin  was  suspended  across  State  Street  and  flags 
union  down.  A  brass  field-piece,  belonging  to  the 
Fourth  Artillery,  was  ostentatiously  loaded  in  sight 
of  all  the  people  and  carried  by  the  men  of  that  corps 
in  rear  of  the  hollow  square  in  which  Burns  was 
placed.  Some  1,500  or  1,800  men  of  the  volunteer 
militia  were  under  arms,  all  with  their  guns  loaded 
and  capped,  and  the  officers  with  revolvers.  These 
men  were  stationed  at  different  posts  in  all  the  streets 
and  lanes  that  led  into  Court  or  State  streets,  from 
the  court-house  to  Long  Wharf.  The  police  forced 
the  people  back  to  a  certain  line,  generally  at  the 
foot  or  middle  of  the  lanes  and  streets  leading  into 
the  main  streets,  and  wherever  there  was  a  passage, 
there,  a  few  paces  behind  the  police,  was  a  body  of 
troops,  from  twenty  or  thirty  to  fifty  or  one  hundred, 
according  to  the  size  and  importance  of  the  passage. 

The  mayor  having  given  General  Edmunds  discre- 
tionary orders  to  preserve  peace  and  enforce  the  laws, 
General  Edmunds  gave  orders  to  each  commander  of 
a  post  to  fire  on  the  people  whenever  they  passed  the 
line  marked  by  the  police  in  a  manner  he  should  con- 
sider turbulent  and  disorderly.  So,  from  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning  until  towards  night,  the  city  was 
really  under  martial   law.      The  entire  proceeding 


1854.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.        281 

was  illegal.  The  people  were  not  treated  as  rioters 
or  ordered  to  disperse.  No  civil  officers  were  on  the 
spot  to  direct  the  military  or  to  give  orders  when  and 
how  to  act.  But  the  people  were  given  their  line,  as 
on  a  parade  day,  and  the  troops  were  ordered)  by  a 
military  commander,  to  fire  upon  them,  at  the  discre- 
tion of  the  various  commanders  of  posts.  In  one 
case,  that  of  Captain  Evans  of  the  Boston  Artillery, 
the  two  first  orders  were  actually  given,  and  in  a  sec- 
ond more  the  company  would  have  fired,  but  for  the 
fortunate  intervention  of  Colonel  Boyd,  who  ordered 
their  guns  to  shoulder.  Mr.  Almon  tells  me  that  he 
heard  an  officer  mounted  tell  the  crowd  that  if  they 
passed  a  certain  line,  the  soldiers  were  ordered  to 
fire,  and  would  certainly  do  so.  Professor  Wyman 
says  that  Captain  Young  of  the  Artillery  at  the  head 
of  Franklin  Avenue  presented  his  pistol  at  every  man 
that  came  to  the  alley,  and  put  two  or  three  persons 
ridiculously  under  arrest,  with  threats  to  shoot  them. 
I  myself  saw  several  men  of  Company  H,  1st  Regi- 
ment, at  the  head  of  Broad  or  Kilby  Street,  on  a 
slight  sign  of  commotion  in  the  crowd  at  the  foot  of 
State  Street,  such  as  often  is  seen  in  large  crowds, 
cock  their  guns  and  present  them,  ready  to  fire,  with- 
out orders.  An  accident  would  have  cost  lives,  and  it 
was  with  great  reluctance,  and  only  after  repeated 
orders,  that  these  men  would  uncock  their  guns  and 
bring  them  to  order.  It  has  been  the  greatest  good 
fortune  in  the  world  that  not  a  gun  was  fired  by  acci- 
dent or  design.  No  one  could  limit  the  consequences; 
and  all  concerned  would  have  been  in  the  eye  of  the 
law  murderers. 

Mr.  Grimes  and  I  remained    in  the  court-house 
until  the   vile   procession    moved.     Notwithstanding 


282  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  38. 

their  numbers  and  the  enormous  military  protection, 
the  marshal's  company  were  very  much  disturbed 
and  excited.  They  were  exceedingly  apprehensive 
of  some  unknown  and  unforeseen  violence. 

The  "  guard  "  at  length  filed  out  and  formed  a 
hollow  square.  Each  man  was  armed  with  a  short 
Roman  sword  and  one  revolver  hanging  in  his  belt. 
In  this  square  marched  Burns  with  the  marshal. 
The  United  States  troops  and  the  squadron  of  Boston 
light  horse  preceded  and  followed  the  square,  with 
the  field-piece.  As  the  procession  moved  down,  it 
was  met  with  a  perfect  howl  of  Shame !  Shame !  and 
hisses. 

I  walked  slowly  down  the  streets  at  a  considerable 
distance  in  the  rear  of  the  procession,  and  when  I 
heard  the  news  that  it  had  safely  reached  the  end  of 
the  wharf,  and  that  the  cutter  was  steaming  out  to 
sea,  I  returned  to  my  office. 

I  remained  in  my  office  until  about  8.30  P.  M.,  revis- 
ing my  speech  for  the  paper  of  Saturday,  and  went 
over  to  Parker's  to  tea  with  Horace  Gray.  While 
at  tea,  the  bells  rang  for  nine  o'clock.  I  remarked 
to  Gray  that  I  had  lost  the  nine  o'clock  coach,  and 
must  either  wait  a  half  hour  or  walk  out.  Just  then 
Burlingame  came  up  and  proposed  that  we  walk  out 
together.  I  acceded  to  the  proposal  and  waited 
some  twenty  minutes  or  so  for  him  to  finish  his  tea, 
and  then  we  three  started  together.  Gray  left  us  at 
Pemberton  Square,  and  Burlingame  and  I  went  on 
through  Court  Street.  We  had  just  passed  Stoddard 
Street,  walking  on  the  left  side  of  Court  Street,  go- 
ing towards  Bowdoin  Square,  he  on  the  inside  and  I 
on  the  outside,  when  I  remember  observing  a  commo- 
tion on  my  left  as  of  people  pushing,  and  instantly 


1854.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.         283 

I  received  a  terrible  blow  over  my  right  eye.  I 
was  stunned  by  it  for  a  moment.  Whether  I  was 
knocked  down  or  not  I  do  not  know.  I  first  remem- 
ber standing  in  the  street,  stupefied  and  bleeding,  and 
thinking  that  I  had  been  hit  by  some  accident.  I 
thought  that  an  iron  bar  which  is  used  to  confine  win- 
dow shutters  had  been  suddenly  thrown  out  and  had 
hit  me,  or  that  I  had  received  a  chance  blow  from 
some  one  in  a  quarrel  at  my  side.  I  saw  no  man. 
The  blow  was  from  behind  or  at  my  side,  and  I  do 
not  distinctly  remember  seeing  anything  go  across  my 
sight,  though  I  have  some  indistinct  recollection  of 
something  like  an  arm  or  a  stick  passing  across  my 
sight.  People  came  about  me,  and  I  recollect  insist- 
ing upon  it  that  I  was  not  hit  intentionally,  until 
several  told  me  they  saw  the  man  and  the  blow,  and 
then  I  said  to  Bnrlingame,  "Well,  we 've  kept  the 
field."  I  walked  to  Dr.  Salter's  with  Burlingame, 
when  he  left  me,  to  go  to  the  police  office  to  lodge  a 
complaint,  and  to  the  newspapers.  Dr.  Salter  applied 
arnica  externally  for  nearly  an  hour,  reducing  the 
swelling  considerably.  The  weight  of  the  blow  fortu- 
nately fell  on  the  strong  bone  over  the  eye  and  on 
the  cheek  bone.  If  it  had  hit  the  eye,  it  would  have 
destroyed  it.  If  it  had  hit  the  temple,  I  have  little 
doubt  it  would  have  broken  it  in. 

I  was  unarmed.  Through  the  whole  of  these  per- 
ilous days,  in  the  midst  of  armed  men,  and  in  danger 
of  being  involved  in  a  riot  at  any  time,  I  yet  deter- 
mined to  go  unarmed.  I  thought  that  as  I  had  a 
professional  duty  to  perform,  which  required  all  my 
powers  and  attention,  I  should  be  able  to  do  it  better 
and  be  less  likely  to  be  involved  in  quarrels  if  en- 
tirely unarmed.     I  carried  nothing,  therefore,  but  a 


284  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  38. 

heavy  cane.  But  it  would  have  made  no  difference 
here,  for  I  had  no  time  to  fire,  or  even  to  look.  My 
cane  I  missed  when  I  came  to  my  senses.  A  man 
behind  me  said  that  one  of  the  men  who  came  up  to 
attack  me  took  it  away,  just  as  the  blow  was  struck. 

I  had  on  glasses,  which  I  often  wear  in  the  night, 
to  aid  my  sight.  The  rim  and  glass  of  the  right  eye 
were  broken. 

Burlingame  and  I  took  a  coach  and  rode  out  to 
Cambridge.  It  was  nearly  twelve  o'clock,  when'  I 
reached  home.  Sarah  had  gone  to  bed.  I  took  no 
light  into  her  room,  and  told  her  of  my  injury,  repre- 
senting it  as  a  light  matter,  and  not  telling  her  the 
full  truth  until  the  next  day. 

From  the  story  told  by  Burlingame  and  a  Mr. 
Perkins  who  was  behind,  it  would  seem  that  as  I 
passed  Allen's  saloon,  where  these  rowdies  congre- 
gate, my  name  was  called  and  two  men  came  out,  fol- 
lowed us  a  little  way,  and  then  one  of  them  pushed 
Burlingame  aside  and  struck  me  this  blow,  whether 
with  fist  alone  or  not  they  cannot  tell,  and  both  ran. 
Burlingame  pursued  them.  They  ran  through  Allen's 
saloon,  and  then  into  Stoddard  Street,  and  into  one  of 
the  gambling  saloons.  As  he  went  into  Stoddard 
Street  the  gang  of  fellows  growled  out  to  Burlingame 
to  go  off  or  he  would  get  what  he  would  not  like,  and 
he  returned  to  look  after  me. 

During  Saturday,  Sunday  and  Monday  I  kept 
about,  but  my  eye  was  swollen  and  bloodshot,  but  by 
the  middle  of  the  week  it  was  fully  recovered. 

A  full  report  of  my  argument  appears  in  the  "  Trav- 
eller" of  Saturday,  June  3d,  and  in  the  "New  York 
Evening  Post  "  of  the  same  date. 

I  have  had  letters  of  compliment  and  congratulation 


1854.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.        285 

and  condolence  and  sympathy  from  all  quarters, 
which  have  been  very  gratifying  to  me ;  and,  for 
once  since  1848,  my  position  seems  to  be  in  accord- 
ance with  that  of  the  powers  that  be  in  Boston.  The 
change  wrought  by  the  Nebraska  Bill  is  astonishing. 
The  moderate  Whigs,  who  doubted  and  distrusted 
Mr.  Webster's  course  in  1850,  are  out  clear  and  firm, 
and  full  of  sympathy  for  us.  The  "  Webster  Whigs," 
if  anything,  feel  worse  than  any  others.  They  feel 
to  blame.  They  feel  that  they  have  been  deceived 
by  the  South,  and  that  they  have  misled  others.  I 
do  not  know  how  many  who  hardly  spoke  to  me  from 
1850  to  1853,  and  whom  I  heard  of  in  all  quarters 
as  speaking  against  me  bitterly,  come  up  to  me  with 
the  freedom  and  warmth  of  old  friends,  and  talk  as 
though  there  had  never  been  any  difference  between 
us.  This  is  not  always  easy  to  bear.  But  it  is  so 
gratifying  a  sign,  that  I  can  waive  the  personal  ad- 
vantage I  might  take  if  I  pleased. 

On  Wednesday  they  arrested  a  man  on  suspicion  of 
being  my  assaulter.  He  is  a  very  strong  man,  a  bulty, 
going  by  the  aliases  of  Oxford,  Huxford  and  Sullivan. 
He  pretended  not  to  know  me  when  I  came  into 
court,  and  asked  in  a  very  loud  tone,  "  Which  of 
those  gentlemen  is  Mr.  Dana?"  and  asked  me,  after 
I  had  stated  the  charges,  whether  I  had  ever  seen  him 
before.  I  asked  him,  by  a  lucky  thought,  if  he  was 
not  one  of  the  United  States  marshal's  "  guard." 
He  said  he  was.  I  then  asked  him  if  he  did  not  stay 
in  the  court-room,  after  the  decision  was  given,  and 
after  the  room  was  cleared.     He  said  that  he  did. 

Now  it  is  quite  impossible  that  he  did  not  know 
me,  as  I  had  been  before  the  guard  constantly  for  five 
days,  and  making  an  argument  of  four  hours. 


286  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  38. 

June  25.  Sunday.  The  excitement  from  the  Fugi- 
tive Slave  case  has  not  yet  passed  away,  and  the  case 
and  its  attendant  circumstances,  the  military  govern- 
ment we  were  under,  and  our  relations  with  the  gen- 
eral government,  are  constant  subjects  of  exciting 
interest.  P.  W.  Chandler  has  written  a  series  of  arti- 
cles in  the  "  Daily  Advertiser "  on  the  martial  law 
which  we  were  all  put  under.  These  articles  have 
been  temperate  and  clear  and  have  commanded  gen- 
eral assent.  B.  F.  Hallettmade  a  ridiculous  attempt 
to  answer  th^m  in  the  "  Courier."  Colonel  Thomas 
has  replied  in  the  "  Post,"  to  much  more  purpose  than 
Hallett,  but  not  successfully.  Chandler  proves  that 
the  act  of  the  mayor  was  illegal  and  that  the  city  was 
under  martial  law  all  day,  unlimited  discretion  being 
lodged  with  General  Edmunds,  and  power  of  life  and 
death  delegated  down  to  the  commanders  of  posts 
at  the  heads  of  alleys  and  lanes,  the  crowd  being 
nowhere  told  to  disperse  or  in  any  respect  treated  as 
rioters,  and  indeed  no  civil  officer  was  upon  the  spot. 

The  change  in  public  sentiment  on  the  slave  ques- 
tion is  very  great.  Men  who  were  hostile  or  unpleas- 
ant in  1851  are  now  cordial  and  complimentary,  and 
the  prevailing  talk  among  merchants  and  lawyers  is 
that  of  hostility  to  slavery  and  the  slave-power.  It 
is  all  fair  weather  sailing  now.  This  case  is  precisely 
the  same  as  that  of  Sims.  But  then  we  were  all 
traitors  and  malignants,  now  we  are  heroes  and  patri- 
ots. The  truth  is,  Daniel  Webster  was  strong  enough 
to  subjugate,  for  a  time,  the  moral  sentiment  of  New 
England.  He  was  defeated,  killed,  and  now  is  de- 
tected. He  deceived  half  the  North,  but  they  are  un- 
deceived. He  does  not  stand  as  he  did  six  months 
ago. 


HRSITY 

1854.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

30.  Friday.  To-day  I  bad  an  illustration  of  the 
outrageous  operation  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 
Smith,  the  caterer,  called  upon  me  about  his  foreman, 
Robinson,  who  was  in  some  danger,  as  they  thought. 
I  told  him  to  send  Robinson  to  me,  and  in  the  after- 
noon he  came  in  and  told  me  his  story.  He  was  the 
slave  of  Messrs.  Lumpkins  &  Logan,  slave-traders 
in  Richmond,  Virginia.  He  was  the  foreman  and 
overseer  of  their  establishment,  very  much  trusted  by 
them,  and  had  charge  of  their  gangs  of  slaves,  which 
they  collected  for  sale  and  to  send  to  the  New  Orleans 
market.  They  sent  him  from  Richmond  in  a  vessel 
bound  to  New  Orleans  with  a  cargo  of  forty-eight 
slaves.  They  were  driven  by  stress  of  weather  off  their 
course  and  wrecked  on  one  of  the  British  West  In- 
dia Islands,  where  the  negroes  were  all  liberated  by 
the  local  courts.  Robinson  came  to  Boston.  He  had 
given  his  word  to  his  owners,  when  he  left  Richmond, 
that  if  he  was  alive  he  would  meet  one  of  the  Mr. 
Lumpkins  in  New  Orleans  at  such  a  time.  He  felt 
bound  to  keep  his  word,  and  went  there  and  stayed 
over  his  time,  and  his  master  did  not  come.  He  then 
returned  to  Boston  and  established  himself.  This 
was  in  1840.  In  1842  Mr.  Lumpkins  came  to  Boston 
and  inquired  for  him.  As  there  was  no  such  abom- 
inable Jaw  as  that  of  1850  then  in  operation,  and  lit- 
tle or  no  fear  of  recapture  was  felt,  he  went  to  see 
him  at  the  Tremont  House.  Mr.  Lumpkins  asked 
him  about  the  loss  of  the  vessel,  what  had  become  of 
the  men,  etc.  Another  Southern  man  was  present 
and  asked  Lumpkins  :  "  Is  that  one  of  your  boys  ?  " 
"No,"  said  Lumpkins,  "  he  was,  but  he  is  now  a  free 
man."  Lumpkins  made  no  claim  or  pretence  of  a 
claim.     Now  this  Mr.  Lumpkins  is  in  Boston  inquir- 


288  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  S&. 

ing  for  Robinson,  and  he  desired  my  opinion  whether 
it  was  safe  for  him  to  be  about  here.  I  was  obliged 
to  say  to  him  that  he  was  free,  and  that  his  former 
master  had  no  more  right  to  carry  him  off  than  lie 
had  to  carry  me,  but  that  there  was  a  legal  certainty 
that  he  would  be  delivered  up  to  him  if  he  made  a 
claim.  The  reason  was  this:  All  the  claims  now 
made  are  enforced  by  transcripts  of  records.  If  his 
master  claims  him,  he  will  no  doubt  have  a  record. 
This  record  will  be  conclusive  of  the  facts  of  slavery 
and  escape.  The  defence  itself  would  admit  the  iden- 
tity, and  the  commissioner  would  be  concluded  by  the 
record  on  the  other  points.  He  could  not  even  hear 
the  defence.  Thus  a  free  man  would  be  sent  into 
slavery.  Nor  Is  it  necessary  to  suppose  perjury  or 
bad  faith,  for  no  doubt  men  in  Virginia  would  call 
this  an  "  escape  "  under  the  statute,  and  swear  to  his 
being  still  his  slave,  and  perhaps  magistrates  in  Vir- 
ginia would  sustain  the  doctrine  so  far  as  to  grant  the 
record.  People  will  never  see  the  damnable  charac- 
ter of  the  tenth  section  of  that  act  until  a  few  atrocious 
cases  shall  have  arisen. 

September  10.  Sumner  spent  the  evening  with 
me.  He  says  that  when  he  is  in  executive  session 
of  the  Senate,  with  closed  doors  and  sworn  keep- 
ers, he  feels  as  if  he  were  in  the  cabin  of  a  pirate, 
sitting  around  a  council  board,  at  which  the  various 
projects  of  piracy  are  discussed,  one  proposing  a 
descent  upon  the  Gold  Coast,  another  a  visit  to  the 
Mediterranean,  and  another  a  cruise  for  homeward 
bound  Indiamen. 

I  asked  him  if  he  meant,  seriously,  that  their  spirit 
was  such  as  to  bring  up  the  comparison  to  his  mind. 
"  Seriously,"  said  he,  "I  do  mean  so.     That  is  just 


1854.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.        289 

it.  Their  spirit  is  that  of  pirates.  They  do  not 
seem  to  be  aware  of  it,  but  they  talk  like  pirates. 
They  speak  of  getting  Cuba  and  getting  the  Amazon, 
and  this  and  that,  in  disregard  of  all  principles  of 
the  law  of  nations,  and  of  common  faith." 

He  said  he  had  often  been  tempted  to  tell  the 
American  people,  or  give  them  some  hint  of  how 
these  sessions  are  conducted,  but  he  feared  that  al- 
though he  should  reveal  no  particulars,  yet  it  might 
be  called  a  violation  of  secrecy.  So,  too,  as  to  the 
nominations  to  office  ;  said  he,  "  Since  1  have  been  in 
the  Senate,  some  thousands  of  nominations  have  been 
acted  upon,  and  whether  confirmed  or  rejected,  the 
test  openly  and  unblushingly  put  now,  in  debate,  by 
Senators,  is  the  test  of  fidelity  to  the  slave-power. 
At  first  it  was  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  Now  it  is 
Nebraska.  It  is  not  enough  that  he  be  of  the  ruling 
party,  the  least  suspicion  of  infidelity  to  the  Southern 
policy  of  the  party  is  fatal.  The  most  minute  and 
gossiping  evidence  is  gone  into,  on  each  side,  pro  and 
con,  to  prove  or  throw  in  doubt  the  position  of  the 
nominee,  but  the  fitness  for  the  office  is  not  alluded 
to.  Only  in  two  instances,  positively,  only  in  two 
instances,  can  I  remember  that  the  moral  character 
or  fitness  of  the  nominee  have  been  alluded  to." 

September.  I  take  to  myself  the  entire  credit 
of  the  case  of  the  Orkney,  just  decided  hy  Judge 
Sprague.  It  presented  the  question  directly  what 
the  rule  was  when  a  steamer  meets  a  sail  vessel  going 
free,  whether  each  should  keep  to  the  right,  or  the 
sail  vessel  should  keep  on  her  course  and  the  steamer 
avoid  her,  and  whether,  if  the  latter,  the  steamer  must 
go  to  the  right,  or  had  her  choice  of  sides.  In  this 
case  the  sail  vessel  kept  to  the  right  and  the  steamer 


290  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  39. 

to  the  left,  and  they  were  in  collision.  I  was  counsel 
for  the  steamer,  and  in  order  to  prevail  we  must 
establish  three  things:  (1)  That  a  sail  vessel  going 
free,  meeting  a  steamer,  must  keep  her  course  ;  (2) 
that  the  steamer  must  do  all  the  avoiding  ;  (3)  that 
the  steamer  had  her  choice  of  which  side  she  will  go. 
A  recent  case  of  Dr.  Lushington's,  The  City  of  Lon- 
don (4  Notes  of  Cases),  was  directly  against  me.  He 
held  that  in  such  case  each  vessel  must  keep  to  the 
right. 

I  examined  carefully  every  case  of  collision  in 
England  or  America,  and  made  up  my  mind  that 
there  was  a  rationale  which  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the 
whole  law  of  collision  which  had  never  been  ex- 
pounded or  even  hinted  by  any  judge  or  commenta- 
tor, and  which,  if  sustained,  would  overturn  Dr. 
Lushington's  decision  and  give  me  my  case.  I  pre- 
sented it  in  full  to  Judge  Sprague,  in  an  argument  of 
nearly  four  hours  long,  illustrating  and  enforcing  it 
in  every  way  in  my  power.  .  I  acknowledged  it  to  be 
new,  but  told  him  that  by  propounding  and  enforcing 
it,  he  could  do  for  the  law  of  collision  what  the  great 
Lord  Holt  did  for  the  law  of  bailments  in  Coggs  v. 
Barnard.  The  result  was  that,  after  a  deliberation 
of  ten  days  or  so,  Judge  Sprague  adopted  and  sanc- 
tioned it  entirely,  overruled  the  City  of  London,  and 
gave  me  my  case,  and,  what  was  more  gratifying  still, 
he  adopted  not  only  my  positions  but  my  reasons, 
and  did  not  add  anything  material  to  my  argument. 

I  have  a  right  to  take  some  pride  in  this,  and  the 
entire  credit. 

The  following  correspondence  explains  itself  and  com- 
pletes the  record  of  Mr.  Dana's  connection  with  the  fugitive 
slave  cases,  a  record  no  line  of  which  he  or  his  could  ever 
wish  to  blot. 


1854.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.        291 

June  15,  1854. 
R.  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  Esq. 

We  are  directed  by  the  Vigilance  Committee  of  Boston 
to  offer  you  their  most  sincere  thanks  for  the  prompt  de- 
votion with  which  you  hastened  to  the  protection  of  Anthony 
Burns,  and  to  assure  you  of  their  profound  appreciation  of 
the  eloquence  and  ability  with  which  he  was  defended. 

While  recognizing  the  disinterestedness  which  led  you  to 
proffer  your  services  without  a  fee,  they  beg  leave  to  in- 
close the  accompanying  check,  not  as  compensation,  but  as 
grateful  acknowledgment  merely  of  your  efforts  to  aid  them 
in  securing  justice  to  fugitive  and  freeman. 

In  behalf  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Vigilance 
Committee, 

Wendell  Phillips. 

June  15,  1854. 

Wendell  Phillips,  Esq. 

In  behalf  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Vigilance 
Committee  of  Boston. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  have  just  received  your  note  of 
yesterday,  conveying  to  me,  in  very  gratifying  terms, 
assurances  of  the  feelings  entertained  by  the  society 
you  represent  respecting  my  services  in  the  recent 
case  of  Anthony  Burns. 

They  give  me  more  credit  than  I  am  willing  to 
receive.  The  good  fortune  which  is  said  to  attend 
early  rising  made  me  one  of  the  first  of  the  members 
of  the  bar,  if  not  the  first,  to  hear  that  there  was  a 
man  in  custody  as  a  slave  in  the  court  room.  To  ren- 
der myself  at  once  on  the  spot,  and  to  offer  my  pro- 
fessional services  to  him  and  to  those  who  were  com- 
ing forward  as  his  friends,  was  an  act  I  trust  natural 
to  me,  and  requiring  no  effort  or  sacrifice.  Many 
others  would  have  done  the  same,  and  no  doubt  did 
as  fast  as  they  heard  the  intelligence.     I  have  done 


292  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  39. 

so  in  the  cases  of  alleged  slaves  in  Boston  heretofore, 
and  so  have  others,  and  I  hope  the  members  of  the 
bar  in  Massachusetts  will  never  fail  to  be  ready  to 
render  this  service  gratuitously  to  the  cause  of  hu- 
manity and  liberty.  A  portion  of  my  time,  and  the 
application  of  such  influence  and  ability  as  I  may 
possess,  is  the  only  contribution  I  have  to  make. 
Others  contribute  of  their  means  and  powers,  all  in 
their  various  ways,  and  many  at  great  sacrifice  and 
with  little  or  no  return  even  in  the  way  of  acknowl- 
edgment. 

Looking  upon  the  matter  in  this  light,  while  I 
thank  the  committee  for  their  kind  words  of  ap- 
proval, and  for  the  subtlety  of  good  taste  which  led 
them  to  draw  a  distinction  between  compensation 
and  an  acknowledgment  of  a  gratuitous  service,  I  am 
sure  the  committee  will  not  think  me  in  the  least  dis- 
respectful to  them  when  I  say  that  in  whatever  form 
their  politeness  may  cast  the  offer,  I  am  not  willing 
to  retain  the  check  which  accompanies  your  note. 
Beside  my  own  feeling  in  the  matter,  which  would 
be  conclusive  with  me,  I  would  not  have  the  force  of 
the  precedent  which  has  been  set  in  the  trials  for 
freedom  in  Massachusetts  thus  far,  impaired  in  the 
least,  for  the  honor  of  my  profession  and  the  welfare 
of  those  in  peril. 

I  beg  you  to  express  to  the  committee  my  sense  of 
their  attention,  and  believe  me, 

Yours  truly, 

Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr. 

Boston,  January  1,  1855. 

Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Some  of  our  fellow-citizens  have  charged 
me  with  the  grateful  duty  of  transmitting  to  you  the  accom- 


1655.       RENDITION   OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.        293 

panying  piece  of  plate,  which  we  beg  you  to  accept  as  a 
mark  of  our  appreciation  of  the  zeal,  patience  and  ability 
with  which  you  managed  the  defence  of  Anthony  Burns. 

You  have  declined  all  pecuniary  compensation  for  these 
laborious  and  painful  services,  and  we  do  not  hope  to  add, 
by  this  gift,  to  the  satisfaction  you  must  experience  from 
the  faithful  performance  of  a  great  and  humane  duty,  but 
we  rather  seek  our  own  gratification  in  thus  asking  you  to 
preserve  and  hand  down  to  your  children  and  your  chil- 
dren's children  this  record  of  your  noble  act,  as  one  of  the 
many  evidences  (their  richest  inheritance)  of  a  useful,  honor- 
able and  Christian  life. 

Accept  at  the  same  time  our  heartfelt  wishes,  that  the 
year  now  opening  may  be  blessed  to  you  and  yours,  and  ex- 
empted from  the  sorrows  and  trials  which  you  have  shared 
with  us  in  the  year  just  closed. 

Respectfully  yours, 

R.  E.  Apthorp,  Committee. 

Cambridge,  January  4,  1855.' 

Robert  E.  Apthorp,  Esquire: 

Bear  Sir, —  The  labors  of  a  lawyer  are  ordina- 
rily devoted  to  questions  of  property  between  man 
and  man.  He  is  to  be  congratulated  if,  though  but 
for  once,  in  any  signal  cause  he  can  devote  them  to 
the  vindication  of  any  of  the  great  primal  rights  af- 
fecting the  highest  interests  of  man. 

I  have  always  regarded  the  part  I  was  able  to  take 
in  the  defence  of  Anthony  Burns  as  a  privilege  for 
which  I  ought  rather  to  give  than  to  receive  remu- 
neration. The  unsuccessful  issue  of  that  trial  and 
the  humiliations,  neither  few  nor  small,  which  at- 
tended and  followed  it,  permit  us  to  look  back  upon 
it  only  with  the  most  painful  emotions.  The  only 
bright  recollection  is  that  there  were  some,  among 
whom  are  those  who  join  with  you  in  this  testimonial, 


294  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  39. 

who,  with  you,  stood  by  him  in  his  hour  of  need, 
with  the  aid  of  their  countenance,  their  characters, 
their  fortunes,  at  some  peril  even  to  their  lives,  to 
save  him,  and  in  him  the  cause  of  humanity  and  the 
fair  fame  of  Massachusetts.  It  was  my  lot  to  aid  in 
the  way  most  appropriate  and  convenient,  the  way  of 
my  profession. 

You  have  thought  proper  to  present  to  me  this 
beautiful  gift,  on  the  beginning  of  a  year,  which  we 
hope  has  written  against  it  in  Heaven's  ordinal  no 
such  bitter  draught  for  Massachusetts. 

I  shall  always  look  upon  it  rather  as  a  memorial 
of  the  event,  than  as  a  testimonial  to  myself ;  and  I 
shall  teach  my  children,  to  whom  you  kindly  refer, 
when  they  read  my  name,  which  you  have  placed 
upon  it,  to  regard  me  rather  as  the  representative  of 
the  donors  themselves,  than  as  entitled  to  any  pecul- 
iar personal  merit.  But  as  an  evidence  of  the  kind 
fueling  of  so  many  of  my  fellow-citizens,  and  as  a 
grateful  remembrance  of  your  friendship,  I  shall 
claim  in  it  a  peculiar  property. 
Very  truly  yours, 

Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr. 

The  piece  of  plate  thus  given  was  a  salver  bearing  the 
following  inscription :  — 

TO 

RICHARD  H.  DANA,  JR. 

FOR  HIS 

MANLY  AND  GRATUITOUS  DEFENCE 

OF  THE 

UNALIENABLE   RIGHTS 

OF 

ANTHONY  BURNS, 

WHO   WAS 

KIDNAPPED   AT   BOSTON,    MAY   24TH, 

AND   DOOMED   TO   ETERNAL   BONDAGE,  JUNE   2d,    1854. 


FROM   A   FEW   OF   HIS   FELLOW   CITIZENS. 


1853.       RENDITION  OF  ANTHONY  BURNS.        295 

Among  the  books  in  Mr.  Dana's  library  is  a  copy  of 
Campbell's  Specimens  of  the  British  Poets,  given  to  him  in 
1853.  To  the  fly-leaf  of  the  volume  is  attached  a  letter, 
touching  in  its  simplicity,  which  reads  as  follows  :  — 

Me.  Richard  Dana  : 

Respected  Sir,  —  I  received  the  money  without  any 
trouble  whatever. 

Yesterday  I  went  round  to  the  friends  in  Cambridge  to 
return  their  money,  and  only  one  family  that  would  receive 
it.  I  was  advised  by  Mr.  Longfellow  to  put  the  remainder 
into  the  bank  for  my  own  benefit.  Please  to  accept  this 
book  as  a  small  token  of  my  respect  for  your  untiring  ex- 
ertions not  only  in  my  cause,  but  in  being  a  friend  in  all 
cases  to  a  proscribed  race.     Respectfully, 

Rosanne  Taylor. 


In  an  earlier  portion  of  this  narrative  Dana's  connection 
with  the  fugitive  slave  cases  was  referred  to  as  the  u  one 
great  act  of  his  life  ;  "  and  the  strong  expression  was  then 
ventured,  that  "  the  man  who  holds  that  record  in  his  hand 
may  stand  with  head  erect  at  the  bar  of  final  judgment  it- 
self." The  record  is  now  complete,  and  speaks  for  itself ; 
no  occasion  ever  again  arose  for  Dana  to  take  his  stand 
by  the  side  of  a  hunted  slave. 

u  But  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and 
all  the  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  on  the  throne  of 
his  glory.  .  .  . 

"  And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them,  Verily 
I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  these  my 
brethren,  even  these  least,  ye  did  it  unto  me." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    MARSHAL'S    GUARD. 

In  the  extracts  from  the  diary  contained  in  the  last  chapter 
there  was  a  reference  to  the  arrest  of  Huxford,  that  one  of 
the  ruffians  who  composed  the  United  States  marshal's  guard 
during  the  hearing  which  preceded  the  rendition  of  Burns 
who  immediately  after,  on  the  evening  of  Friday,  June  2, 
assaulted  Dana  in  Court  Street.  The  story  of  Huxford's 
subsequent  flight  to  Louisiana,  his  being  thence  brought 
back  to  Massachusetts  on  requisition  and  convicted  of  the 
assault,  with  all  the  singular  incidents  of  criminal  life  con- 
nected with  those  events,  was  in  subsequent  years  often  told 
by  Dana,  and  in  February,  1876,  he  made  it  the  subject  of  a 
lecture  which  he  delivered  before  the  Young  Ladies'  Satur- 
day Morning  Club.  This  lecture  pieces  out  and  completes  in 
a  most  interesting  manner  his  narrative  of  the  Burns  case. 

Before  giving  those  portions  of  the  lecture  which  are  not 
taken  from  the  diary,  it  will  be  well  to  reproduce  the  part 
of  Dana's  closing  argument  before  Commissioner  Loring 
which  so  exasperated  the  members  of  the  marshal's  guard. 
It  constituted  the  exordium  of  what  he  then  said,  and  at 
the  time  was  very  generally  printed  in  the  newspapers  and 
commented  upon. 

I  congratulate  you,  sir,  that  your  labors,  so  anx- 
ious and  painful,  are  drawing  to  a  close.  I  congratu- 
late the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  that  she  is 
to  be  relieved  from  that  incubus  which  has  rested 
on  her  for  so  many  days  and  nights,  making  her  to 
dream  strange  dreams   and   see  strange  visions.     I 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S   GUARD.  297 

congratulate  her  that  at  length  in  due*time,  by  leave 
of  the  marshal  of  the  United  States,  and  the  dis- 
trict attorney  of  the  United  States,  first  had  and  ob- 
tained therefor,  her  courts  may  be  reopened,  and  her 
judges,  suitors  and  witnesses  may  pass  and  repass 
without  being  obliged  to  satisfy  hirelings  of  the 
United  States  marshal  and  bayoneted  foreigners, 
clothed  in  the  uniform  of  our  army  and  navy,  that 
they  have  a  right  to  be  there.  I  congratulate  the  city 
of  Boston  that  her  peace  here  is  no  longer  to  be  in 
danger.  Yet  I  cannot  but  admit  that  while  her 
peace  here  is  in  some  danger,  the  peace  of  all  other 
parts  of  the  city  has  never  been  so  safe  as  while  the 
marshal  has  had  his  posse  of  specials  in  this  court- 
house. Why,  sir,  people  have  not  felt  it  necessary  to 
lock  their  doors  at  night,  the  brothels  are  tenanted 
only  by  women,  fighting-dogs  and  racing-horses  have 
been  unemployed,  and  Ann  Street  and  its  alleys  and 
cellars  show  signs  of  a  coining  millennium. 

I  congratulate,  too,  the  government  of  the  United 
States  that  its  legal  representative  can  return  to  his 
appropriate  duties,  and  that  his  sedulous  presence  will 
no  longer  be  needed  here  in  a  private  civil  suit  for 
the  purpose  of  intimidation,  a  purpose  which  his 
effort  the  day  before  yesterday  showed  every  desire 
to  effect,  which,  although  it  did  not  influence  this 
court  in  the  least,  I  deeply  regret  that  your  honor 
did  not  put  down  at  once  and  bring  to  bear  upon  him 
the  judicial  power  of  this  tribunal.  I  congratulate 
the  marshal  of  the  United  States  that  the  ordinary 
respectability  of  his  character  is  no  longer  to  be  in 
danger  from  the  character  of  the  associates  he  is 
obliged  to  call  about  him.  I  congratulate  the  officers 
of  the  army  and  navy  that  they  can  be  relieved  from 


298  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  38. 

this  service,  which  as  gentlemen  and  soldiers  surely 
they  despise,  and  can  draw  off  their  non-commissioned 
officers  and  privates,  both  drunk  and  sober,  from  this 
fortified  slave-pen  to  the  custody  of  the  forts  and 
fleets  of  our  country,  which  have  been  left  in  peril 
that  this  great  republic  might  add  to  its  glories  the 
trophies  of  one  more  captured  slave. 

The  following  are  the  material  portions,  not  already  given 
in  the  diary,  of  Jhe  lecture  describing  the  arrest  of  Hux- 
ford,  one  of  the  "  associates  "  whom  Marshal  Freeman  was 
"  obliged  to  call  about  him."  It  will  be  remembered  that 
the  narrative  was  prepared  in  1876,  twenty-two  years  after 
the  events  described  in  it  took  place,  and  eleven  years  after 
the  close  of  the  rebellion. 

Looking  upon  this  assembly  I  am  reminded  that  a 
generation  is  growing  up  which  does  not  remember, 
and  will  hardly  believe,  that  slavery  was  the  public 
law  of  half  of  this  republic,  and  that  the  slave-power 
ruled  all  in  its  politics.  From  the  institution  of  the 
government  until  the  civil  war  there  were  nineteen 
presidential  terms.  Of  these  the  North  held  six,  the 
South  thirteen.  The  South  held  the  chief-justiceship 
of  the  Supreme  Court  for  sixty-three  successive  years, 
and  there  was  not  an  hour  from  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution  until  the  civil  war  when  a  majority  of 
that  court  were  not  slave-holders,  although  the  free 
States  furnished  more  than  three  quarters  of  its  busi- 
ness. When  there  were  five  judges  the  South  had 
three,  when  there  were  seven  it  had  four,  when  there 
were  nine  it  had  five.  The  slave-power  ruled  the 
army  and  navy,  West  Point  and  Annapolis.  No 
man  could  be  appointed  a  teacher  in  either  of  those 
institutions  who  was  suspected  of  anti-slavery  opin- 
ions, and  such  opinions  clogged  the  advancement  and 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S   GUARD.  299 

made  the  life  uncomfortable  of  any  officer  of  the  army 
or  navy ;  and  I  doubt  if  a  man  with  such  opinions 
could  have  held  a  clerkship  in  any  department  in 
Washington,  and  the  capital  was  slave  soil,  with  its 
slave-markets  and  slave-jails.  No  man  suspected  of 
such  opinions  could  hold  any  office  requiring  confirma- 
tion by  the  Senate.  In  1859-60  I  made  the  circum- 
navigation of  the  globe,  and  in  every  port  I  visited  I 
called  upon  the  American  consul,  and  I  never  saw  one 
who  was  not  either  an  advocate  of  slavery  or  a  willing 
or  silent  servant  of  the  slave-power.  In  no  consulate 
could  an  anti-slavery  newspaper  be  found,  and  I  believe 
that  if  any  consul  was  detected  in  subscribing  for  the 
"New  York  Tribune  "  or  "  Evening  Post  "  he  would 
have  been  removed.  To  our  ship-masters  and  foreign 
ship-masters  and  supercargoes  in  all  foreign  lands  the 
republic  showed  only  its  slavery  side,  ahd  the  same 
may  be  said  substantially  of  our  foreign  embassies. 

At  home  the  slave-power  was  steadily  advancing. 
From  six  states  it  had  risen  to  fifteen.  Our  ancestors 
had  prohibited  slavery  in  all  the  then  territories  of 
the  United  States  not  formed  into  states.  The  South 
obtained  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  1855 
that  slavery  could  not  be  prohibited  in  any  territory 
either  by  Congress  or  by  the  territory  itself.  This 
doctrine  was  adopted  by  the  Democratic  party.  In 
1850  Congress  passed  the  infamous  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  which  deprived  the  colored  people  of  the  free 
states  of  all  the  traditional  guaranties  of  freedom, 
and  brought  the  slave-hunters  to  our  doors,  and  con- 
verted our  court-houses  and  jails  into  barracoons. 
The  slave-power  expected,  in  the  Lemmon  Case,  and 
I  do  not  doubt  would  have  obtained  a  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  that  slave-masters  residing  in  a  free 


300  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  38. 

state  for  temporary  purposes,  as  for  education,  health 
or  summer  resort,  could  hold  their  slaves  here,  and 
compel  our  magistrates  and  police  to  aid  them  in  their 
discipline. 

I  will  not  go  further  into  details.  This  generation 
can  hardly  believe  to  what  an  extent  the  slave-power 
had  subdued,  overawed,  and  at  least  neutralized  the 
anti-slavery  sentiment  of  the  North  between  1836 
and  1860.     -* 

I  have  thought  these  remarks  necessary  that  you 
might  better  understand  my  narrative,  the  scene  of 
which  is  laid  in  Boston  in  1864.  .  .  . 

Saturday,  May  27.  Coming  into  town  from 
Cambridge  this  morning,  I  learned  the  exciting  and 
serious  events  of  the  night  before.  I  had  confined 
my  attention  to  the  work  before  me,  and  purposely 
kept  myself  ignorant,  as  far  as  possible,  of  names  and 
things  connected  with  any  forcible  violation  of  law. 
What  I  now  state  was,  much  of  it,  learned  after- 
wards, some  of  it  since  the  war  and  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  There  had  been  a  plan  to  rescue  Burns, 
which  was  kept  very  quiet,  to  be  carried  out  mostly 
by  men  from  the  country,  especially  from  the  town  of 
Worcester.  It  was  understood,  or  thought  to  be,  that 
preparations  should  be  made  in  the  afternoon,  and 
that  when  all  was  ready  a  signal  should  be  given  at 
the  meeting  at  Faneuil  Hall,  and  the  entire  force  of 
the  meeting  should  be  directed  against  the  court- 
house. Dr.  S.  G.  Howe,1  whose  name  we  utter  with 
bated  breath,  Colonel  T.  W.  Higginson,  then  a  young 
writer  and  lecturer,  and  Martin  Stowell  of  Worcester, 
were  among  those  looked  to,  to  lead  the  attack.  The 
signal  was  given  at  the  meeting,  but  the  meeting  was 
1  Dr.  Howe  died  January  9,  1876. 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S  GUARD.  301 

violent,  and  it  was  either  not  known  or  misunderstood, 
and  the  crowd  blocked  the  egress,  and  only  Higginson, 
of  the  leaders,  who  did  not  go  to  Faneuil  Hall,  but 
devoted  himself  to  the  preparations,  was  in  Court 
Square.  Only  the  light  stuff  of  the  meeting  came  to 
the  square  at  first  and  precipitated  an  attack  which 
they  were  by  no  means  ready  to  follow  up.  How 
much  of  this,  if  anything,  the  speakers  at  Faneuil 
Hall  knew,  I  cannot  tell ;  but  their  speeches  were 
deprecatory  of  mobs  and  violence.  Mr.  Phillips  es- 
pecially implored  them  to  await  the  decision  of  the 
commissioner, — that  it  would  be  time  enough  to 
attempt  a  rescue  if  the  decision  should  be  adverse. 
But  about  nine  o'clock  somebody  called  out  that  the 
mob  was  attacking  the  court-house ;  the  cry  "  To  the 
court-house  !  to  the  court-house  !  "  was  raised,  the 
audience  became  ungovernable,  poured  out  through 
the  doors,  and  made  for  Court  Square.  This  precipi- 
tated an  ill-prepared  and  premature  attack.  A  large 
stick  of  timber,  which  had  been  deposited  in  an  alley 
for  the  attack,  was  seized  and  used  to  batter  down  one 
of  the  small  doors.  The  marshal,  though  not  antici- 
pating the  attack,  was  not  entirely  unprepared.  He 
had  in  the  course  of  the  day  collected  an  extra  force 
of  about  fifty  men  who  were  armed  with  cutlasses. 
They  were  stationed  mainly  behind  the  door  which 
was  attacked.  The  door  was  several  times  forced  and 
closed  again,  and  Mr.  Higginson  and  two  or  three 
others  entered.  All  who  entered  were  educated  men, 
Harvard  College  graduates,  but  found  themselves 
confronted  b}r  this  force  with  drawn  weapons,  and 
deserted  by  the  crowd.  No  one  else  seems  to  have 
attempted  to  enter.  Higginson  received  a  cut  across 
the  chin,  the  scar  of  which  he  still  bears,  and  other 


302  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  38. 

rough  handling,  and  with  his  two  or  three  supporters 
was  forced  back  into  the  street.  He  called  out  from 
the  steps,  u  You  cowards !  will  you  desert  us  now  ?  " 
But  there  was  no  organized  following,  and  the  police 
had  already  got  among  them  and  seized  some  dozen 
or  more  and  carried  them  off  to  the  watch-house. 
Dr.  Howe,  Martin  Stowell  and  others  reached  the 
square,  but  too  late,  and  the  attack  came  to  an  end. 
I  know  of  one  attempt  Dr.  Howe  made  to  give  the 
mob  a  chance,  after  he  got  there,  but  none  availed 
themselves  of  it,  with  the  one  serious  result  that  a 
truckman  named  Batchelder,  who  bad  volunteered  on 
this  as  on  the  previous  occasion  to  assist  in  arresting 
and  guarding  fugitive  slaves,  was  killed  by  a  stab 
while  forcing  back  the  door. 

This  failure  put  an  end  to  all  further  efforts  at  a 
rescue,  for  the  marshal  soon  became  fully  prepared. 
Looking  from  my  window  upon  the  west  front  of  the 
court-house  this  morning  it  presented  a  strange  aspect. 
It  was  fully  garrisoned.  A  body  of  the  United  States 
troops  from  Fort  Warren,  under  Major  Ridgley, 
and  a  company  of  marines  from  the  Navy  Yard  at 
Charlestown,  under  Major  Dulany,  and  a  company  of 
artillery  were  stationed  in  the  court-house,  and  an- 
other company  of  artillery  in  the  adjacent  city  hall, 
and  sentries  guarded  every  access  to  the  court-house 
and  lined  its  passageways,  and  one  or  more  field- 
pieces,  loaded  with  small  shot,  were  planted  in  the 
square. 

Perhaps  I  ought  to  explain  to  the  younger  part  of 
the  audience  that  although  the  court-house  belonged 
to  the  state,  a  few  rooms  at  the  northerly  end  of  it 
had  been  leased  to  the  United  States  for  judicial  pur- 
poses, and  the  government   had  there  a  court-room 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S   GUARD.  303 

and  smaller  rooms  for  clerks,  marshals  and  juries. 
But  the  guard  which  the  marshal  placed  took  posses- 
sion of  the  entire  court-house,  and  no  one  could 
enter  it  or  pass  through  its  passages,  except  through 
files  of  soldiers,  and  after  satisfying  the  persons  in 
charge  of  each  locality,  who  were  often  irresponsible 
men,  temporarily  appointed.  Attempts  were  made 
to  hold  the  state  courts  during  the  next  week,  but 
were  soon  abandoned. 

The  hearing  had  been  appointed  for  ten  o'clock  this 
morning.  Passing  the  sentries  at  every  door  and 
angle,  to  whom  I  refused  to  give  any  account  of  my- 
self, requiring  them  to  send  for  the  officer  in  com- 
mand, I  went  into  the  court-room  with  Mr.  Ellis. 
The  commissioner  was  in  his  seat,  Burns  at  the 
prisoner's  dock,  and  Suttle  and  his  counsel  at  a  table 
within  the  bar.  There  were  no  men  bearing  arms 
openly  within  the  room,  but  on  the  benches  next  the 
bar  and  in  the  jury  seats  was  a  body  of  120  men, 
known  as  the  marshal's  guard,  to  whom  my  story  par- 
ticularly relates.  When  the  marshal  found  himself 
in  danger,  he  thought  it  best,  besides  the  troops,  to 
have  a  small  body  of  men  not  soldiers  to  be  the  es- 
pecial guard  over  Burns  as  well  as  protectors  to  him- 
self. There  was  at  this  time  in  Boston  a  notorious 
man  whose  name,  as  it  is  now  twenty-one  years  ago, 
and  he  left  Boston  soon  after,  I  feel  at  liberty  to  give. 
He  was  an  Italian  named  Luigi  Varrell  or  Varelli, 
but  popularly  called  Loui  Varrell  or  Loui  Clark,  the 
name  under  which  he  was  naturalized.  A  few  years 
before  he  had  been  tried  for  his  life  for  the  murder  of 
a  woman  whom  he  called  Mrs.  Clark  who,  if  I  recol- 
lect right,  was  thrown  from  Charlestown  bridge.  The 
government  was  not  able  to  convict  him.     He  kept  a 


304  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  38. 

gambling  hall  and  a  liquor  shop,  and  was  engaged  in 
horse-racing,  dog-fighting,  prize-fighting  and  other 
equally  reputable  employments.  He  was  a  clear- 
headed, capable  fellow,  and  though  vindictive  and 
passionate  on  occasions  was  cool  in  business,  and 
made  money  out  of  the  passions  of  others.  He  was  a 
kind  of  king  among  the  low  classes  of  men  who  re- 
sorted to  him  places,  and  whom  he  more  or  less  em- 
ployed. There  was  at  the  same  time  a  Mrs.  Clark 
who  contributed  to  swell  the  revenues  of  the  joint 
concern  by  other  methods.  This  was  the  man  for  the 
sudden  and  peculiar  needs  of  the  marshal.  He  sent 
for  him,  and  in  four  hours  Varrell  had  the  guard  col- 
lected, armed  and  in  the  court-house.  As  they  sat 
round  the  sides  of  the  bar  they  showed  no  weapons, 
but  each  man  had  a  revolver  and  a  knife  under  his 
loose  sacque  coat.  Varrell,  short,  stout-built,  dark- 
complexioned,  with  a  quick,  black  eye  and  heavy 
brow,  stood  a  little  aside  keeping  a  good  watch  over 
everything.  A  friendly  bystander  who  knew  the 
world  told  me  something  about  this  guard,  and  iden- 
tified one  of  them  as  Tyrrel,  w7ho  wTas  tried  and  not 
convicted  for  the  murder  of  a  woman  in  the  West 
End,  and  another  who  served  his  time  in  the  state 
prison  for  robbing  Scott  &  Currier's  jewelry  store. 
They  were  certainly  what  is  familiarly  called  a  hard- 
looking  set.  Mr.  Andrews,  the  ex-jailer,  says  he  finds 
forty-five  among  them  who  at  various  times  had  been 
his  prisoners. 

Mr.  Ellis  and  I  again  moved  for  a  postponement 
till  Monday.  It  was  opposed  earnestly  by  the  coun- 
sel for  Suttle,  which  gave  me  the  opportunity  I  wanted 
for  a  speech.  The  commissioner  again  granted  our 
request,  and  the  hearing  was  postpone  d  till  ten 
o'clock  on  Monday. 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S   GUARD.  305 

I  do  not  purpose  to  carry  you  through  the  trial  or 
its  incidents.  They  occupied  Monday,  Tuesday  and 
Wednesday,  on  which  day  the  arguments  were  fin- 
ished. The  commissioner  adjourned  the  hearing  to 
Friday  morning,  when  he  was  to  give  his  decision. 
For  seven  days  the  court-house  was  held  in  the  charge 
of  the  troops  and  the  marshal's  guard.  There  were 
about  sixty  marines  from  the  Navy  Yard,  and  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  regulars  from  Fort  Warren, 
as  I  have  said.  These  guarded  the  doors  and  passage- 
ways in  all  the  stories.  The  body-guard  under  Louis 
Clark  slept  and  ate  in  the  building,  most  of  them  in 
the  court-room  itself.  The  court-house  had  the  look 
of  a  garrison,  the  regulars  lolling  out  of  windows  and 
hanging  about  the  doors,  most  of  them  foreigners,  as 
was  the  case  with  our  army  then,  some  of  the  lazy 
hounds  stretched  on  benches,  or  diverting  themselves 
in  the  small  rooms  with  cards  and  pipes.  There  were, 
besides,  cordons  of  city  police.  So  long  as  they  at- 
tempted to  keep  open  the  state  courts,  there  were  sev- 
eral instances  of  difficulty  and  obstruction  to  litigants, 
witnesses  and  jurors  coming  to  and  from  the  court- 
rooms. Attempts  were  made  by  certain  barristers  to 
procure  an  order  from  the  state  courts  requiring  at 
least  one  door  and  passage  to  be  kept  open  and 
guarded  by  officers  of  the  court ;  but  no  judge  was 
found  who  seemed  willing  to  issue  the  order  or  even 
to  summon  the  United  States  marshal  before  him 
and  insist  upon  satisfactory  arrangements. 

The  state  of  things  was  so  portentous  that  on  Sat- 
urday morning  the  counsel  for  Suttle,  with  his  con- 
sent, opened  negotiations  for  the  sale  of  Burns,  or, 
more  strictly,  for  his  emancipation.  They  were  met 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Grimes,  who  spent  nearly  the  whole 


306  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  88. 

day  and  evening  in  procuring  the  required  sum  of 
money,  which  was  $1,200.  The  negotiations  got  so 
far  that  the  necessary  paper  was  drawn  up  and  the 
money  secured,  when  they  were  broken  off  by  the  in- 
tervention of  the  United  States  attorney.  This  offi- 
cer had  no  function  whatever  to  perform  in  the  case. 
It  was  a  private  question  of  one  man's  claim  to  the 
possession  tyf  another,  and  the  United  States  was  in 
no  sense  a  party  ;  but  the  attorney  insisted  that  the 
emancipation  should  not  take  place,  that  the  law 
should  be  vindicated,  and  if  the  decision  was  against 
Burns  he  should  be  actually  taken  back  to  Virginia, 
and  there  delivered  into  the  custody  of  his  owner, 
after  which  the  owner  might,  if  he  saw  fit,  take  the 
money  and  execute  the  papers.  The  commissioner 
who  was  to  try  the  case  did  his  utmost  to  carry  out 
the  negotiations,  but  the  voice  of  the  United  States 
attorney  prevailed,  and  Suttle  refused  to  go  any  far- 
ther, but  said  he  would  sell  him  after  he  had  got 
him  to  Virginia.  The  United  States  attorney  acted 
under  orders  from  the  Cabinet  at  Washington,  with 
whom  he  was  in  constant  communication  by  tele- 
graph. Thus  the  negotiations  broke  off,  and  the 
trial  proceeded. 

On  Friday,  June  2d,  in  a  crowded  court-room  be- 
fore a  most  anxious  audience,  with  still  larger  crowds 
from  all  parts  of  the  Commonwealth,  drawn  to  Bos- 
ton by  their  intense  interest,  the  commissioner  gave 
his  decision.  It  was  in  favor  of  the  claimant,  remand- 
ing Burns  into  his  custody. 

The  preparations  made  by  the  marshal  were  of  an 
imposing  character.  The  adjutant  general  of  the 
United  States  army  had  been  ordered  by  the  Pres- 
ident to  Boston,  empowered  to  take  United  States 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S  GUARD.  307 

troops  from  New  York,  who  were  kept  in  readiness 
to  move.  The  entire  police  force  of  Boston  was  in 
service.  On  the  requisition  of  the  mayor,  portions 
of  the  state  militia,  consisting  of  a  battalion  of  dra- 
goons, a  regiment  of  artillery  and  two  of  infantry, 
were  paraded.  Their  function,  as  officially  stated, 
was  to  preserve  the  peace.  The  United  States  gov- 
ernment chartered  a  steamer,  which  lay  at  a  wharf 
near  the  foot  of  State  Street,  to  transport  Burns,  with 
a  portion  of  the  regulars,  to  the  United  States  rev- 
enue cutter,  which  lay  at  anchor  below,  prepared  to 
carry  him  to  Norfolk.  The  militia  who  had  been 
called  out  were  posted  along  Court  Street  and  State 
Street  from  the  court-house  to  the  wharf.  Court 
Square  was  held  by  the  regular  artillery  and  their 
cannon.  The  militia  were  drawn  up  across  every 
street  or  alley  that  led  to  or  from  Court  or  State  Street, 
at  a  little  distance  up  the  street  or  alley,  so  that  the 
people  should  be  kept  back,  and  there  should  be  no 
access  to  the  route  of  the  procession.  The  marshal's 
guard  formed  immediately  about  Burns,  in  front, 
behind  and  on  each  side.  They  no  longer  concealed 
their  weapons,  but  each  man  wore  a  short  Roman 
sword  and  a  revolver.  Within  the  hollow  square 
were  the  marshal  and  Burns.  Before  them  were  the 
cavalry  and  a  part  of  the  regulars,  and  behind  an- 
other portion  of  the  regulars,  with  their  cannon. 
The  streets  were  to  a  great  extent  hung  in  black,  and 
mottoes  indicating  indignation  or  shame  were  sus- 
pended from  windows,  and,  as  the  procession  moved, 
there  were  almost  incessant  hissings  and  low  cries  of 
"  shame,  shame,"  although  there  were  no  attempts  at 
violence.  ... 

I  was  detained  in  town  until  late  in  the  evening. 


308  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  38. 

Mr.  Anson  Burlingame,  Horace  Gray  (now  Chief 
Justice)  and  I  took  tea  together  at  Parker's,  talking, 
gloomily  enough,  over  the  events  of  the  day.  Some 
of  the  marshal's  deputies,  and  others  who  had  volun- 
teered with  them,  were  having  a  high  supper  at  other 
tables,  making  themselves  conspicuous  by  loud,  tri- 
umphant talking.  Being  too  late  for  the  nine  o'clock 
omnibus  (for  half-hour  omnibuses  were  the  only  com- 
munication with  Cambridge  at  that  time),  Burlingame 
and  I  agreed  to  walk  out  together,  as  we  had  often 
done  before.  Mr.  Gray  left  us  at  Pemberton  Square, 
and  Burlingame  and  I  went  along  Court  Street  on 
the  left  side,  I  walking  on  the  outside  next  the  street. 
We  passed  Stoddard  Avenue,  a  vile  neighborhood, 
and  had  nearly  reached  the  Revere  House,  when  I 
noticed  that  some  one  crowded  Mr.  Burlingame  away 
from  me,  and  I  felt  myself  struck  a  very  heavy  blow 
on  the  head,  —  I  thought  for  the  moment  it  was  by 
an  iron  bar,  —  and  the  next  I  knew  was  that  I  was 
picking  myself  up  from  the  pavement,  a  little  stunned, 
and  pretty  well  covered  with  blood.  A  crowd  soon 
got  about  me,  and  a  man  who  gave  his  name  as  Per- 
kins, and  seemed  friendly,  said  I  had  been  struck 
by  a  man  from  behind,  and  that  two  men  had  turned 
and  run  back  towards  Stoddard  Avenue,  Mr.  Burlin- 
game pursuing  them.  Burlingame  soon  rejoined  me, 
and  I  went  to  the  house  of  a  neighboring  physician, 
and  after  some  two  hours  of  rest  and  care  there  we 
went  out  in  a  coach  to  Cambridge.  He  told  me  that 
seeing  me  fall  and  two  men  running  away,  he  fol- 
lowed them  as  far  as  Allen's  saloon,  into  which  they 
ran,  when  a  crowd  of  rough  fellows  blocked  his  way 
in  a  threatening  manner,  —  "  You  'd  better  be  off  from 
here,"  —  and  he  came  back  to  look  after  me.     The 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S   GUARD.  309 

blow  had  fallen  upon  the  thick  strong  bone  just  over 
the  right  eye,  and  the  physician  said  that  my  fall  and 
bleeding  had  probably  prevented  congestion,  and  that 
had  the  blow  fallen  a  trifle  lower  I  might  have  lost  an 
eye,  or  if  a  trifle  higher  it  might  have  broken  in  the 
temple.  As  it  was,  I  escaped  all  serious  consequences, 
and  was  at  my  office  the  next  day. 

The  city  offered  a  large  reward,  but  I  had  no  belief 
that  the  man  would  be  discovered,  and  neither  Bur- 
lingame  nor  I  could  have  identified  him. 

During  all  the  exciting  scenes  of  the  last  week, 
when  so  many  were  armed,  I  carried  no  weapon,  and 
purposely.  I  had  a  special  duty  to  perform,  purely 
civil  in  its  character,  and  I  felt  that  I  should  do  it  all 
the  better  if  I  relied  on  nothing  but  civil  and  moral 
power. 

About  a  week  after  this  assault  there  came  into 
my  office  a  small,  thin,  dark,  sharp-eyed  man,  who 
must  see  me  alone,  and  announced  himself  as  Heath, 
a  detective. 

"  I  've  got  your  man,  Mr.  Dana." 

"Well,  where  is  he?" 

"  I  have  n't  arrested  him  yet.  I  want  you  and 
Mr.  Burlingame  to  identify  him." 

I  repeated  the  circumstances,  and  assured  Heath 
that  neither  Burlingame  nor  I  could  do  anything 
toward  identifying  him.  Heath  was  persistent  and 
seemed  really  to  think  that  we  might  do  something 
to  accommodate  him,  for  he  was  after  the  reward. 
Being  at  last  convinced,  he  asked  what  he  should  do, 
having  no  proof. 

M  Are  you  sure  it  is  the  man  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  know  it  is." 

"  Then,  if  you  know  it,  you  can  prove  it." 


310  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  38. 

"  Oh,  no,  Mr.  Dana.     It  is  n't  so  in  our  business." 

Asking  for  an  explanation,  he  said  that  the  police 
had  some  person  in  almost  every  gang  of  criminals 
on  whom  they  had  some  hold,  and  from  whom  they 
would  sometimes  get  information.  Such  persons  were 
criminals  themselves,  discovered  in  some  misconduct, 
whom  the  detectives  "  let  up,"  on  the  understanding 
that  they  should  occasionally  give  help.  In  this  case 
the  informant  was  a  woman. 

"  And  you  can't  use  her  as  a  witness  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  that  will  never  do.  It  would  cost  her 
her  life.  Besides,  we  must  keep  faith  with  these 
people,  or  we  lose  all  hold  of  them." 

Ihe  man's  name,  he  said,  was  Huxford.  I  advised 
Heath  to  arrest  him  if  he  was  sure  he  was  the  man. 

The  next  day  Heath  came  in  again. 

"  I  've  got  him,  sir.  He's  in  the  police  court,  and 
the  judge  wants  you  to  come  in." 

You  may  not  all  know  —  the  ladies  will,  but 
some  of  the  gentlemen  may  not  —  the  law  which 
governs  cases  of  arrest.  It  is  a  part  of  our  free  system 
that  if  a  man  is  arrested  on  suspicion  of  crime  he  is 
entitled  to  be  examined  immediately  by  a  magis- 
trate, and  if  there  is  not  proof  enough  to  warrant  his 
detention,  he  is  entitled  to  be  discharged.  As  we 
had  absolutely  no  proof,  I  expected  to  see  Huxford 
discharged  at  once.  I  went  into  the  police  court, 
and  took  my  seat  in  a  small  inclosure  occupied  by 
lawyers.  In  the  prisoner's  box  was  a  large,  powerful 
man,  with  a  big  head,  full  neck,  heavy  brow,  short 
cut  hair,  with  the  regular  prize-fighter  look.  A  few 
minutes  after  I  took  my  seat  he  asked,  loud  enough 
to  be  heard  by  the  magistrate,  and  looking  towards 
our  seat,  — 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S   GUARD.  311 

"  Which  of  those  gentlemen  is  Mr.  Dana?  " 

Ah  !  It  is  seldom  that  a  guilty  man  helps  himself 
by  anything  he  undertakes  to  say.  Immediately  it 
occurred  to  me,  How  do  you  know  that  either  of 
those  gentlemen  is  Mr.  Dana?  I  was  satisfied  from 
this  that  he  knew  me. 

The  judge  called  up  the  case,  and  the  man  an- 
swered to  the  name  of  Henry  Huxford.  He  was 
asked  if  he  was  ready  to  be  examined.  Fortunately 
for  us,  and  it  was  his  second  and  great  mistake,  he 
said  he  was  not.  "  Why  not?  "  He  could  prove  that 
he  was  at  home  and  abed  at  the  time  I  was  assaulted, 
and  wished  time  to  get  his  witnesses.  Heath,  who 
conducted  the  case,  consented  to  a  delay  with  well- 
affected  reluctance.  The  judge  granted  two  days, 
with  bail  at  $1,500.  Immediately  stepped  forward 
Louis  Varrell.  "Is  he  good?"  said  I  to  Heath. 
"  He  ?  Yes.  He  's  good  for  $10,000  any  time."  I 
had  gone  upon  the  witness  stand  before  the  postpone- 
ment to  state  what  little  I  knew.  The  judge  asked 
Huxford  if  he  wished  to  put  any  question  to  me. 
Here  he  made  his  third  mistake.  "  Did  you  ever  see 
me  before,  Mr.  Dana?  "  If  I  had  not  been  a  lawyer 
I  should  probably  have  answered,  "  Not  that  I  re- 
member." But  I  replied,  "  Were  you  one  of  the 
marshal's  guard  in  the  Burns  case  ?  " 

I  put  this  question  at  a  venture,  on  the  probability 
only. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Huxford. 

H  Then  I  have  seen  you  before,"  said  I. 

This  confirmed  the  falsity  of  his  first  question. 
The  idea  that  a  man  who  had  guarded  Burns  in  the 
court -room  five  days,  and  seen  and  heard  me  for 
hours    every  day  examining    witnesses    and  arguing 


312  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  My.  38. 

the  case,  should  ask  which  of  three  or  four  gentlemen 
I  was  was  too  preposterous.  My  replies  probably  con- 
firmed Huxford's  suspicions  that  we  knew  all  about 
him. 

On  the  second  morning  Heath  came  in  again. 

"  He  's  gone  !  " 

"  Who's  gone?" 

"  Huxford.     He  's  off.    He  was  off  that  afternoon." 

I  said  I  supposed  it  was  an  arranged  thing,  —  that 
the  bail  would  be  paid  by  contribution,  perhaps  the 
United  States  paying  part.  No!  Heath  was  sure 
Huxford  had  run  off  and  left  Varrell  in  the  lurch. 
Varrell  was  in  high  wrath,  had  traced  him  to  New 
York,  where  he  had  taken  ship  as  a  sailor  to  New 
Orleans,  and  was  to  get  a  warrant  from  the  governor 
and  go  or  send  by  rail  to  New  Orleans  and  bring 
the  man  back.  I  was  incredulous,  but  Heath  was  a 
better  judge  than  I  of  such  things.  He  said  it  was  n't 
so  much  paying  the  bail  that  Varrell  minded.  It 
Mould  never  do  for  him  to  let  one  of  these  men  get 
the  better  of  him.  His  power  over  the  whole  class 
would  be  gone.  They  all  knew  that  Huxford  had 
cheated  him,  and  it  was  worth  everything  to  Varrell 
to  get  him  back  and  put  him  in  the  dock.  Varrell's 
counsel  stated  the  facts  to  the  court,  and  asked  for  a 
postponement  long  enough  to  enable  Varrell  to  bring 
back  his  man.  The  judge  asked  what  we  had  to  say. 
Had  it  been  left  to  me  I  should  doubtless  have  either 
refused  or  consented  outright.  But  every  man  to 
his  trade.  Heath  wished  to  confer  with  Varrell,  and 
I  left  it  all  to  Heath,  who  was  indeed  the  dominus 
litis.  What  Heath  told  me  the  next  day  gave  me 
a  new  idea  of  human  ingenuity,  to  say  nothing  of 
honesty.     He  had  sturdily  refused  to  agree  to  a  post- 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S   GUARD.  313 

ponement,  and,  when  urged  for  a  reason,  said  that 
he  might  lose  his  witnesses,  —  of  which  the  virtuous 
Heath  had  not  one,  and  did  not  expect  to  have. 
Huxford  would  try  to  prove  an  alibi,  and  some  wit- 
ness against  him  might  fail.  Varrell  said  he  would 
furnish  witnesses.  That  was  very  well,  but  Heath 
was  n't  to  be  caught  by  words.  If  Varrell  would  fur- 
nish two  witnesses  who  saw  the  whole  thing,  and 
they  would  make  an  affidavit  in  writing  to  be  left  in 
Heath's  hands  so  that  they  couldn't  change  their 
testimony  afterwards,  and  Varrell  would  be  bail  for 
their  appearance  as  witnesses  in  large  sums,  the  mag- 
nanimous Heath  would  consent  to  a  postponement. 
All  this  had  been  done,  and  Heath  handed  me  the 
two  affidavits.  They  were  in  due  form  and  in  full 
detail.  The  witnesses  had  been  together  Friday 
night  at  Allen's  saloon,  where  Huxford  and  others 
of  the  marshal's  guard,  who  had  been  paid  off,  were 
celebrating  their  victory.  The  strong  gaslight  in  the 
street  and  the  big  bay  window  showed  Burlingame 
and  me  passing  by.  "  There  goes  Mr.  Dana,"  said 
Huxford  ;  "  I  'd  like  to  give  him  his  corn,"  and  he 
started  out  after  me.  The  two  witnesses,  who  weie 
young  men,  followed  him  and  saw  all  that  happened, 
the  blow  from  behind,  my  fall,  and  Huxford  passed  in 
plain  sight  by  them  on  his  retreat  to  the  saloon.  The 
next  morning  they  met  him  and  gave  him  a  wink. 
He  asked  them  if  they  saw  it,  and  told  them  to  keep 
dark.  Nothing  could  be  more  satisfactory  than  the 
testimony,  and  Heath  said  the  witnesses  were  nice 
boys. 

Varrell  obtained  the  requisition  from  Governor 
Washburn,  and  sent  off  Heath,  accompanied  by  a 
policeman  named  Jones,  to  New  Orleans,  duly  em- 


314  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  38. 

powered  to  secure  the  extradition  of  Huxford.  The 
following  narrative  of  the  doings  at  New  Orleans  I 
had  from  Heath  himself. 

Arriving  at  New  Orleans,  Heath  presented  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  the  chief  of  police,  a  man  named 
James,  of  whose  capacity  and  fidelity  Heath  formed 
a  high  opinion.  The  esprit  de  corps  of  the  police- 
man was  too  strong  even  for  his  hatred  of  abolition- 
ists. He  did  n't  care  what  abolitionist  the  man  had 
assaulted,  if  Heath  wanted  him  he  should  have  him. 
They  went  together  to  the  Governor,  and  obtained  the 
proper  papers  for  the  arrest.  Here  he  learned  more 
about  Huxford.  He  bore  a  very  bad  character.  He 
had  lived  in  a  street  which  the  police  never  entered 
without  a  strong  force,  and  had  been  sentenced  to  six 
months  in  the  house  of  correction,  but  had  not  been 
committed,  the  case  having  been  in  some  way  post- 
poned by  the  assistance  of  an  influential  supporter  of 
Huxford's,  General  Quitman  of  Cuban  filibuster  no- 
toriety. Quitman  was  one  of  the  officers  of  Lopez's 
expedition  to  Cuba  where  they  were  all  taken  and 
Lopez  garroted,  and  the  inferior  officers  and  the  men 
had  been  released  on  the  intercession  of  our  govern- 
ment. Huxford,  who  was  best  known  in  New  Or- 
leans as  Bill  Sullivan,  was  one  of  Quitman's  men, 
and  had  since  been  serviceable  to  him  and  others  in 
politics  as  a  shoulder -hitter,  and  was  one  of  that 
infamous  company  called  "  Thugs,"  part  of  whose 
superfluous  energies  were  devoted  to  managing  pri- 
mary meetings,  guarding  ballot-boxes  and  challeng- 
ing voters. 

A  policeman  of  New  Orleans  named  Howard  was 
assigned  to  Heath,  and  they  went  together  to  the 
mouth  of  the  river  and  there  awaited  at  the  pilot 


1854.  THE   MARSHAL'S    GUARD.  315 

station  the  arrival  of  the  ship  in  which  Huxford  had 
sailed.  It  was  midsummer,  intensely  hot,  the  whole 
region  sandy  and  muddy,  and  as  disngreeable  as  pos- 
sible. Heath  made  it  his  business  to  secure  the  good 
will  of  the  pilots,  and  offered  a  prize  of  five  dollars 
to  the  man  who  would  first  sight  the  ship,  and  ten 
to  the  man  who  would  put  him  on  board.  On  the 
morning  of  July  3  the  ship  was  telegraphed,  and 
Heath  was  put  on  board.  Almost  the  first  man  he 
saw  was  Huxford. 

"  Heath  !     What  in  h — 1  do  you  want  aboard  this 
ship  ?  " 

"  Bill,  I  want  you,  and  I  am  going  to  have  you." 
Bill  took  a  different  view  of  it,  and  scouted  the 
idea  of  being  taken  out  of  the  ship  in  the  river  where 
all  the  M  boys"  would  stand  by  him.  The  crew  gath- 
ered about  in  a  threatening  way,  prepared  to  stand 
by  their  shipmate.  There  had  been  for  years  a  very 
bad  state  of  things  in  the  river.  As  soon  as  a  large 
ship  arrived  she  was  boarded  by  runners  and  land- 
lords and  low  characters  of  all  sorts  who  sometimes 
practically  had  possession  of  the  ship.  A  short  time 
before  a  New  England  captain  by  the  name  of  Holmes, 
trying  to  enforce  order  among  his  crew,  had  been  shot 
by  one  of  these  ruffians  from  on  shore.  The  captain 
of  this  ship  called  Heath  below  into  the  cabin  to 
examine  his  authority  for  the  arrest,  and  Heath  told 
Howard  to  keep  a  sharp  eye  on  Bill  and  not  let  him 
get  out  of  sight,  and  the  mate  had  orders  to  let 
no  boat  board  the  ship.  Heath  found  this  captain  a 
man  determined  to  enforce  order,  with  seven  revol- 
vers loaded  and  at  hand.  Nobody,  he  said,  should 
control  his  ship  but  himself.  Being  satisfied  of 
Heath's  authoritv,  he  told  him  he  should  have   his 


316  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  38. 

man,  and  they  went  on  deck.  But  Huxford,  alias  Bill 
Sullivan,  was  not  to  be  found.  Howard,  who  turned 
out  to  be  a  nobody,  said  that  Huxford's  wife,  who 
was  on  board  as  a  steerage  passenger,  had  cried  and 
howled  and  set  the  crew  all  agog,  and  they  had  hus- 
tled Huxford  out  of  his  sight.  The  afternoon  and 
evening  were  wasted  in  vain  attempts  to  discover 
him.  All  boats  were  kept  off  from  the  ship,  and  two 
men  had  been  obtained  by  signal  to  the  pilot  station. 
Pistol  iu  hand,  Heath  and  an  officer  searched  the 
forecastle  and  every  part  of  the  vessel  where  they 
thought  it  likely  Huxford  would  be  hid,  the  crew 
muttering  and  threatening  but  the  captain  and  mate 
prepared  for  fight.  Heath  passed  an  anxious  night, 
afraid  to  leave  the  deck.  Toward  morning,  while  it 
was  still  dark,  he  heard  a  splash  in  the  water  and  ran 
forward.  He  could  see  a  board  floating  off  with  the 
tide  and  something  large  upon  it,  and  Huxford's  wife 
was  moaning  and  crying,  and  some  of  the  men  stood 
round  jeering  at  Heath, —  u  There  he  goes.  You  've 
lost  him." 

Heath  jumped  into  the  rigging,  drew  his  pistol  and 
pointed  toward  the  board,  but  he  noticed  that  Mrs. 
Huxford  was  n't  disturbed  by  it,  and  with  that  and 
the  appearance  of  the  object  on  the  board  and  other 
symptoms  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  not 
Huxford. 

That  morning  the  steward's  boy,  a  negro,  told 
Heath  he  believed  the  man  was  in  the  galley ;  but 
the  galley  was  locked,  and  the  key  was  lost.  One 
door  was  locked  but  another  was  hooked  inside. 
Heath  found  that  a  long  knife  slipped  through  the 
crack  would  lift  the  latch  and  he  went  in.  There 
was  nothing  there  but  a  coal  box,  with  the  lid  closed, 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S   GUARD.  317 

that  seemed  quite  too  small  to  hold  a  big  man.  He 
raised  the  lid  and  out  popped  a  pair  of  bare  feet.  He 
seized  them  and  gradually  dragged  out  Huxford. 

"But,  Heath,  Huxford  was  a  bigger  man  than 
you." 

"  Yes,  sir,  but  authority  goes  a  great  ways  in  all 
these  cases." 

A  more  miserable  object  Heath  said  he  had  scarce 
ever  seen.  The  weather  was  hot  and  the  galley  was 
hotter  yet  and  the  coal  box  hotter  still,  besides  being 
lined  with  coal  dust,  and  Huxford  was  dripping  with 
sweat,  and  his  face  looked  like  a  leg  of  bacon  that 
had  been  hanging  all  day  in  a  July  sun.  Heath  had 
him  out  and  got  him  aft,  and  made  the  most  of  his 
advantage  and  of  the  weak  and  forlorn  condition  of 
his  prisoner.  Huxford  still  persisted  that  he  would 
not  go  to  Boston,  but  said  that  if  Heath  would  take 
him  to  New  Orleans  he  would  be  all  right  there. 
Heath  said  that  was  just  what  he  meant  to  do;  that 
he  meant  to  put  him  into  the  parish  jail  in  New 
Orleans  until  a  steamer  sailed  for  the  North.  They 
then  came  to  terms. 

"  Now,  Cocky,"  said  Huxford  (for  Heath  had  a 
squint  of  one  eye),  "  you  're  a  man  of  your  word.  If 
you  will  give  me  your  word  that  you  '11  take  me  to 
New  Orleans  and  put  me  in  the  parish  jail,  I  '11  go 
with  you  and  make  no  resistance." 

Heath  told  him  that  he  should  do  that  thing  ex- 
actly. In  such  cases  as  these,  strange  as  it  may 
seem,  there  is  some  value  attached  to  a  promise.  It 
is  always  of  value  to  a  detective  to  have  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  man  who  rarely  gives  his  word  to  a  criminal, 
and  always  keeps  it ;  and  sometimes  it  is  worth 
while  for  a  prisoner  to  keep  his  word  too.     The  crew 


318  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  38. 

began  to  gather  and  threaten,  but  Huxford  told  them 
he  knew  what  he  was  about,  that  he  was  going  to 
New  Orleans  with  "  Cocky,"  that  it  would  be  all 
right  when  he  got  there.  But  Mrs.  Huxford  came 
up  and  began  screaming  and  imploring,  when  the 
brute  brought  her  a  blow  which  felled  her  to  the 
deck,  and  when  she  got  up  he  said  :  — 

"  Now  you  shut  up,  and  go  and  get  me  a  clean 
shirt  and  some  soap  and  water,  black  my  boots,  and 
bring  them  to  me." 

The  poor  woman  did  as  she  was  bidden,  and  brought 
him  soap  and  water  and  a  towel,  then  a  fresh  shirt, 
and  in  due  time  his  boots  well  blacked,  and  he  got 
into  a  boat  and  went  ashore  to  the  pilot  station  with 
Heath.  Mrs.  Huxford  was  left  to  go  up  to  New  Or- 
leans by  the  ship. 

They  passed  the  whole  day  of  the  third  at  the  pilot 
station,  where  Heath  had  some  difficulty  in  keeping 
Huxford  sober  and  out  of  bad  company  which  had 
come  down  from  the  city  to  pass  the  eve  of  the  Fourth. 
Heath  gave  him  a  little  rope  and  allowed  him  to  play 
poker  with  three  men  from  the  city.  Going  in  to 
look  after  them  lest  Huxford  should  get  too  well 
acquainted  with  them,  Huxford  said  :  — 

"  Heath,  will  you  lend  me  five  dollars  ?  These 
fellows  have  cleaned  me  out." 

Yes,  Heath  would  lend  him  five  dollars  and  set  him 
up  again  in  play.  Huxford  called  for  more  liquor. 
"  No  you  don't,''  said  Heath.  "  These  three  gentle- 
men may  have  what  they  like,  but  you  must  n't  have 
any  more." 

Huxford  was  obedient,  and  Heath  left  them  and 
went  to  the  house,  and  here  he  was  so  thoroughly 
overcome  with    sleep,  having  watched  the   deck  the 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S  GUARD.  319 

whole  night  before,  that  he  told  a  man  to  keep  an  eye 
on  the  four  and  call  him  if  anything  looked  wrong, 
and  fell  into  a  profound  sleep.  The  man  waked  him, 
as  he  did  n't  like  the  looks  of  things.  Heath  went 
down  and  brought  off  Huxford,  but  the  only  way  he 
could  keep  himself  awake  and  keep  Huxford  by  him. 
was  by  playing  billiards.  So  the  officer  and  his  pris- 
oner played  billiards  together  till  dark.  Then  came 
fireworks  of  all  sorts  and  rowdyism  of  the  worst  kind, 
and  Heath  had  no  peace  until  an  upward  bound 
steamer  was  hailed  after  midnight  and  he  took  his 
prisoner  aboard.  There  was  but  one  state-room 
vacant,  one  which  no  one  else  would  take,  as  it  was 
over  a  cattle-pen,  and  some  of  the  cattle  had  died  and 
the  stench  on  a  hot  night  was  as  disagreeable  as  it 
could  be.  He  gave  Huxford  the  choice  of  the  berths, 
made  him  undress  and  lie  down,  and  clapped  a  pair  of 
irons  on  his  wrists,  Huxford  making  no  resistance, 
and  passed  the  rest  of  the  night  in  a  chair  by  the  side 
of  the  berth  by  having  brandy  and  water  and  cigars 
brought  to  him  at  intervals  of  an  hour  by  the  steward, 
for  the  character  of  the  passengers  was  such  that  he 
did  n't  dare  to  go  to  sleep.  He  had  telegraphed  from 
the  pilot  station  to  the  chief  of  police,  and  when  the 
boat  came  to  the  levee  there  was  the  chief  with  a 
coach  and  a  force  of  police,  and  Huxford  was  hurried 
into  the  coach  and  safely  lodged  in  the  parish  prison. 
Huxford  actually  seemed  in  high  spirits,  topping  and 
confident,  which  Heath  did  n't  understand  until  the 
chief  found  he  was  visited  daily  by  General  Quitman 
and  other  of  his  filibustering  and  political  friends,  and 
discovered  that  their  plan  was  to  have  him  taken  in 
execution  on  the  old  sentence  of  imprisonment  and 
put   in  the  house  of  correction,  and  then  take   the 


320  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.3A. 

ground  that  in  Louisiana  an  imprisonment  for  an 
offence  against  their  own  law  must  have  precedence 
over  a  process  of  extradition  to  another  state.  It  was 
part  of  their  strategy  to  put  off  the  service  of  the 
warrant  to  the  last  moment,  and  when  Heath  had  him 
aboard  a  vessel  to  take  him  out  just  before  she  sailed. 
They  noticed  that  Mrs.  Huxford  was  very  desirous 
to  learn  what  steamer  they  were  going  to  take  to  the 
North.  Then  came  in  the  strategy  of  the  detective. 
Of  course  he  did  not  tell  her  the  right  steamer,  and, 
equally  of  course  with  him,  he  did  not  tell  her  the 
wrong  one,  but  kept  up  a  mystery.  They  thought- 
the  hotel  clerk  at  the  bar  was  a  doubtful  person  who 
might  give  information  to  the  other  side,  so  Heath 
and  the  chief  had  a  little  low-toned  conversation,  just 
enough  for  him  to  hear  a  little  of.  The  next  morn- 
ing there  were  two  steamers  to  sail  to  New  York  at 
eight  o'clock,  one  direct  and  one  by  way  of  Havana, 
and  at  the  same  hour  another  was  to  go  up  the  river 
to  Cairo  in  Illinois.  So  Heath  and  Mr.  James  dis- 
cussed the  matter  at  the  bar  between  going  up  the 
river  and  by  rail  to  New  York  or  by  way  of  Havana. 
Mr.  James  leaned  to  the  Cairo  route,  but  Heath  had 
never  been  to  Havana,  and  as  it  was  only  a  matter  of 
half  a  day's  delay  he  was  inclined  that  way,  and  said 
that  Mr.  Jones,  the  policeman  who  had  come  from 
Boston  with  him,  would  look  after  the  prisoner  while 
he  went  ashore.  The  clerk,  as  they  intended,  caught 
the  substance  of  this  and  communicated  it,  as  they 
afterwards  learned,  to  General  Quitman.  The  three 
steamers  lay  at  long  distances  apart,  the  Cairo 
steamer  at  the  upper  end,  the  Havana  near  the  mid- 
dle, and  the  direct  steamer  quite  at  the  lower  part  of 
the  levee.     They  bought  tickets  in  their  own  name 


1354.  THE  MARSHAL'S   GUARD.  821 

for  the  Havana  steamer,  and  then  tickets  under 
feigned  names  were  got  for  the  direct  steamer. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  of  sailing  instead  of 
calling  at  the  jail  for  their  prisoner  at  seven  o'clock, 
as  they  had  given  out  to  the  jailer,  they  went  at  three 
in  the  morning,  waked  up  the  jailer  and  demanded 
their  prisoner.  He  was  very  loath  and  must  see  their 
papers,  and  interposed  delays  of  all  sorts ;  but  the  pa- 
pers were  right,  the  chief  could  not  be  trifled  with,  and 
they  soon  had  Huxford  in  a  coach  and  drove  straight 
toward  the  Havana  steamer  until  they  were  out  of 
sight,  and  then  made  a  long  circuit  and  placed  him 
on  board  the  direct  steamer,  and  fastened  him  up  in 
a  state-room  with  irons  on  feet  and  hands,  one  of  them 
all  the  while  with  him,  the  other  looking  out,  and  the 
chief  on  the  levee  with  a  sufficient  force  to  put  down 
any  lawless  attempt  at  a  rescue.  But  Heath's  great 
fear  was  the  arrival  of  officers  with  the  warrant  of 
commitment  under  the  state  law.  He  was  on  the 
very  eve  of  a  great  success  after  all  his  trouble  and 
risk,  and  to  be  defeated  at  the  last  moment  would 
have  been  too  much  to  bear.  He  said  it  was  the 
most  anxious  three  hours  he  ever  passed  until  the 
fasts  were  cast  off  and  the  vessel's  head  turned  into 
the  river,  and  he  gave  his  good-by  and  thanks  and 
hearty  hand-shake  to  the  chief  of  police  who  had  be- 
haved so  well. 

But  Heath's  troubles  were  not  over  yet.  It  was  low 
water,  midsummer,  and  vessels  were  often  detained 
at  the  bar  for  the  height  of  the  tide.  As  they  ap- 
proached the  point  where  you  must  choose  between 
the  two  passes  out  they  met  a  steamer  which  had 
come  over  the  southeast,  and  advised  them  by  all 
means   to  take   the   other.     They  did  so,  and  after 


322  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  38. 

spending  about  an  hour  they  met  another  steamer, 
with  one  of  the  pilots  on  board  whose  acquaintance 
Heath  had  made  at  the  station,  who  had  been  over 
both  bars  and  told  them  they  could  not  get  over  that 
bar  and  must  turn  round  and  go  out  by  the  southeast 
bar,  and  he  thought  that  if  they  ran  close  to  the  buoy 
and  put  on  full  steam  they  could  do  it.  So  the  big 
steamer  was  twisted  round  and  came  near  being  stuck 
in  the  mud,  but  got  about  at  last,  and  was  taken  up 
the  river  and  down  into  the  other  pass,  Heath  ner- 
vously looking  out  for  every  steamer  or  tug  that  came 
near  them  or  showed  her  smoke  up  the  river.  As 
they  neared  the  bar  the  captain  put  on  full  steam  and 
carried  away  the  buoy  and  ploughed  up  the  yellow 
mud  on  the  bar,  but  got  her  off  into  deep  water  and 
she  stood  out  to  sea,  and  the  mind  and  body  of  Heath 
got  some  well-deserved  repose. 

In  due  course  of  time  Heath  returned  in  triumph 
to  Boston,  and  Huxford  was  committed  to  the  jail, 
and  Varrell  moved  among  his  crowd  with  a  higher 
crown  and  longer  sceptre  than  ever. 

Heath  learned  by  letter  from  the  chief  that,  on  the 
eventful  morning  as  soon  as  they  had  left  the  jail,  the 
jailer  hurried  off  a  messenger  to  General  Quitman, 
and  he  roused  his  friends,  and  they  got  officers  with 
the  warrant  and  went  down  to  the  Havana  steamer. 
The  names  were  on  her  books  and  the  number  of  the 
state-room,  but  the  man  was  not  to  be  found.  They 
searched  the  steamer  from  end  to  end,  and  wasted  a 
good  deal  of  time  in  waiting  for  the  possible  arrival 
of  the  coach.  Then  they  bethought  them  of  the 
Cairo  boat,  and  guessed  that  Heath  had  changed  his 
mind  at  the  last,  or  that  the  Havana  boat  and  the 
names  were  only  a  blind,  so  they  tore  off  to  the  upper 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S   GUARD.  323 

end  of  the  city  and  searched  the  Cairo  boat,  and  were 
last  seen  making  for  the  berth  of  the  direct  boat, 
where  they  arrived  some  half  an  hour  after  she  had 
Btarted ;  and  there  they  gave  up  the  chase. 

In  due  time  the  case  came  on  for  trial  at  Boston,  — 
Commonwealth  vs.  Huxford.  I  gave  evidence  of  the 
occurrence,  of  which  I  knew  nothing  beyond  the  blow 
and  its  effects.  The  only  evidence  we  had,  without 
which  he  would  have  been  acquitted,  came  from  the 
two  young  men  produced  by  Varrell.  It  was  refresh- 
ing to  the  sight  to  behold  two  such  clean,  straight, 
comely,  nicely  dressed  youths.  They  wore  neat, 
black  frock-coats  and  gray  trousers,  plain  gold  studs 
on  plain  immaculate  linen,  simple  neckties,  the  neat- 
est of  French  boots,  were  clean  shaved  from  ear  to 
ear,  and  with  rather  short-cut  hair  upon  the  head, 
and  street  gloves  of  yellow  kid.  Both  were  light- 
complexioned,  fair  and  with  blue  eyes.  The  absence 
of  anything  dashing  or  overdressed  about  them  was 
noticeable.  Their  manners  were  models  of  quietude 
and  self-possession.  Each  told  his  story  simply  and 
clearly,  and  each  was  cross-examined  by  Mr.  Bradley, 
the  counsel  for  Huxford,  with  great  address  but  with 
absolutely  no  effect.  Huxford  was  convicted  and 
sentenced  to  two  years  in  the  house  of  correction.  I 
confess  I  began  to  feel  something  like  compassion  for 
the  poor,  blundering  brute  as  against  his  clever  and 
wickeder  master,  Varrell. 

A  few  days  after  this  the  two  witnesses  came  into 
my  office  and  in  the  civillest  manner,  with  their  usual 
self-possession  and  repose,  asked  my  advice  about  the 
lawfulness  of  carrying  concealed  weapons,  saying 
that  they  had  been  threatened  by  Huxford's  friends. 
Prepossessing  as  they  were  and  with  all  their  lamb- 


324  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  38. 

like  innocence  on  such  subjects,  and  with  all  their 
scrupulous  wish  to  obey  every  tittle  of  the  law,  I  still 
thought  it  wisest  for  me  to  decline  to  advise  them, 
putting  it  upon  the  ground  of  my  relations  to  the 
case.  I  thought  it  also  prudent  to  add  that  since  the 
assault  upon  me  I  had  felt  at  liberty  to  be  prepared 
for  defence.  I  never  fathomed  their  purpose  in  coin- 
ing to  me  or  learned  who  sent  them.  During  that 
summer  I  occasionally  met  Varrell  in  the  street,  and 
fancied  that  his  black  eye  and  dark  face  and  hair, 
contrasted  with  the  pure  white  linen  of  his  coat  and 
trousers,  had  an  ominous  look  ;  but  it  was  no  doubt 
prejudice,  although  I  had  been  the  occasion  of  his 
spending  a  good  deal  of  money,  and  taking  a  good 
deal  of  risk  and  trouble. 

When  Huxford's  term  was  about  half  expired  a 
stranger  came  into  my  office  and  asked  me  to  sign  a 
petition  for  the  pardon  of  Huxford  which  he  showed 
me,  neatly  written  out,  awaiting  my  signature  to  be 
put  at  the  head.  I  refused.  He  stepped  back,  looked 
me  steadily  in  the  face,  and  said  in  the  most  serious 
tone  he  could  assume,  "  Mr.  Dana,  I  advise  you  to 
sign  that  paper  ;  "  and  after  a  pause  repeated  the  lan- 
guage in  the  same  tone.  I  told  him  I  regarded  this 
as  a  threat,  and  that  it  had  now  become  impossible 
for  me  to  sign  it  even  if  I  would  have  done  so  other- 
wise, and  that  I  should  feel  it  my  duty  to  report  the 
occurrence  to  the  Governor.  He  left  the  office  before 
I  had  time  to  inquire  who  he  was  and  where  he  came 
from.  I  made  my  report  to  the  Governor.  No  peti- 
tion was  presented  to  him,  and  Huxford  served  out 
his  full  term. 

One  morning  Mr.  Bradley  called  upon  me  and  said 
that  his  client  Huxford  was  now  out,  and  asked  me 


1854.  THE  MARSHALS   GUARD.  325 

if  I  had  any  objection  to  seeing  him,  assuring  me  that 
Huxford  had  no  ill-will  against  me  at  all.  I  had  no 
objection,  and  the  result  was  that  Mr.  Bradley  and 
Huxford  revealed  to  me  the  secret  that  lay  at  the 
bottom  of  the  whole  story. 

Huxford  was  one  of  those  whom  Varrell,  on  his 
short  notice,  had  swept  into  the  marshal's  guard.  He 
was  something  of  a  prize  fighter,  and  had  led  what  is 
known  as  a  hard  life,  —  hard  and  fast.  After  they 
were  paid  off  at  the  marshal's  office  Friday  evening 
Varrell  took  some  dozen  of  them  to  Allen's  saloon  to 
treat  them.  While  they  were  there  Varrell  called 
attention  to  me  and  Burlingame  passing  bv  in  the 
strong  gaslight,  and  said,  "  There  goes  Mr.  Dana. 
I  '11  give  any  man  ten  dollars  who  will  give  him  his 
corn."  "I'm  your  man,"  said  Huxford,  and  they 
started  out  together.  Huxford  protested  to  me  that 
he  had  no  ill-will  against  me  whatever  at  the  time, 
but  was  excited  by  liquor  and  willing  to  gratify  Var- 
rell. As  they  followed  us  they  laid  out  their  plan 
of  attack.  I  was  on  the  outside,  next  the  curbstone. 
They  were  to  come  up  behind  ;  Huxford  was  to  strike 
me  a  round,  swinging  blow  on  the  right  side  of  the 
head,  which  was  expected  to  knock  me  in  toward  the 
wall,  and  Varrell,  at  the  instant,  was  to  catch  me  with 
a  blow  on  the  left  side  as  I  was  falling.  Mr.  Bur- 
lingame and  I  kept  so  close  together  that  Varrell  was 
obliged  to  push  between  us  and  crowd  him  off,  which 
drew  no  attention,  as  the  sidewalk  was  considerably 
thronged.  The  plan  was  a  good  one,  and  would  have 
been  more  decisive  in  its  results  but  that  I  did  not 
fall  according  to  the  programme.  Huxford's  blow 
was  delivered  a  little  too  sidelong,  and,  instead  of 
falling  to  the  left,  I  reeled  round  and  fell  into  the 


326  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  38. 

street ;  so  the  virtuous  Varrell,  with  the  best  inten- 
tions, lost  his  share  in  the  work. 

And  now  for  the  two  witnesses.  Huxford  admitted, 
of  course,  that  much  of  what  they  said  conformed  to 
the  fact,  but  neither  of  them  was  present  or  knew  any- 
thing about  it !  Their  evidence  was  perjured  through- 
out, made  up  from  the  whole  cloth. 

"But  why,"  I  asked,  "should  Varrell  procure  per- 
jury unnecessarily?  Why  couldn't  he  have  taken 
some  witnesses  who  did  know?"  "Oh,  they  would 
know  too  much.  They  might  implicate  him  in  it." 
I  suggested  that  they  might  have  left  him  out.  "  No, 
Varrell  would  n't  take  that  risk.  They  might  drop 
something  unawares,  or  let  something  out  on  cross- 
examination  that  would  implicate  him.  The  best 
way  was  to  have  clean,  fresh  witnesses,  who  knew 
nothing  of  the  transaction,  write  the  story  out  for 
them,  let  them  get  familiar  with  it,  and  they  could  n't 
let  out  what  they  did  n't  know." 

He  told  me  that  these  young  men  had  been  em- 
ployed by  Varrell  about  his  genteel  gambling  house 
and  other  places  of  a  like  nature  ;  that  he  always 
keut  a  few  such,  and  insisted  on  their  being  neatly 
dressed,  quiet,  temperate,  taking  the  best  care  of 
themselves,  and  keeping  up  the  best  appearances. 
They  were  well  paid  and  were  expected  to  do  what- 
ever Varrell  wished  to  have  done.  He  confirmed 
Heath's  notion  about  the  escape,  which,  however,  now 
needed  no  confirmation.  VarrelFs  object  was  to 
punish  him  for  breaking  faith  and  running  away,  and 
to  satisfy  people  that  he  was  not  to  be  trifled  with. 

Some  two  or  three  years  after  this  there  came  into 
my  office  a  man,  pale,  sickly,  with  one  eye,  what  is 
called  seedy  in  his  clothing,  quite  down  at  the  heel, 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S   GUARD.  327 

the  toes  of  Lis  boots  worn  through,  and  quite  mis- 
erable generally.  He  wished  to  consult  me  about 
a  claim  to  some  money  from  the  death  of  an  aunt  in 
Vermont.  He  thought  there  might  be  some  two  or 
three  hundred  dollars  coming  to  him.  I  told  him  I 
could  n't  attend  to  it  in  another  state  ;  that  I  did  not 
know  the  laws  of  Vermont;  that  he  must  go  there 
and  get  a  lawyer.  I  dare  say  I  was  rather  short  with 
him. 

44  You  don't  seem  to  remember  me,  Mr.  Dana." 
"  No.     Have  I  ever  seen  you  before  ?  " 
44  Don't  you  remember  the  case  of  Huxford  ?  " 
44  Yes.     What  had  you  to  do  with  that?  " 
44  Why,  I  was  one  of  the  witnesses  that  convicted 
him." 

There  indeed  he  was,  —  what  a  change !  He  felt 
it  himself,  and  with  the  most  subdued  and  doleful  air 
he  gave  me  his  story.  He  said  that  some  time  after 
the  trial  he  was  at  a  horse-race  at  Chelsea  Beach,  and 

Mr. (naming  a  young  man  of  good  family  who 

kept  very  low  company  and  had  forfeited  his  social 
position,  but   whom   his   companions   always   called 

Mr. )  had  a  quarrel  with  him,  told  him  he  had 

sent  a  better  man  to  prison  than  he  was  himself,  and 
struck  him  a  blow  which  put  out  his  eye.  After  that 
he  said  Varrell  did  not  want  him  any  more,  and  he 
seemed  to  have  fallen  pretty  fast  till  he  had  got  into 
his  present  most  piteous  condition.  I  gave  him  money 
enough  to  take  him  to  Vermont,  which  he  promised 
to  use  for  that  purpose  ;  and  I  know  nothing  of  him 
since. 

The  other  witness  has  prospered,  owns  several 
houses  in  rather  a  bad  neighborhood,  and  is  a  large 
owner  in  a  theatre  and  newspaper,  and,  so  far  as  I  can 


328  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  38. 

learn,  engages  in  nothing  worse  than  what  is  called 
politics. 

Varrell  was  rewarded  for  his  service  in  the  Burns 
case  by  a  post  in  the  custom-house  in  New  York, 
nominally  to  inspect  customs,  but  mainly,  it  was 
thought,  to  manage  primary  meetings  in  the  lower 
parts  of  the  city,  in  which  he  and  his  shoulder-hitters 
were  no  doubt  useful  politicians.  In  the  civil  war, 
having  lost  his  office  by  change  of  parties,  he  turned 
patriot,  raised  a  company  of  roughs,  was  their  cap- 
tain, and  was  in  the  unfortunate  affair  of  Ball's  Bluff. 
He  circulated  great  stories  of  his  personal  valor,  rush- 
ing at  the  Confederates  bowie-knife  in  hand,  all  which 
I  found  our  gentlemen  who  were  in  the  fight  entirely 
discredited.  Indeed,  it  turned  out  in  that  war  that 
the  roughs  were  not  as  good  soldiers,  not  as  brave, 
not  as  enduring,  and  certainly  not  as  trustworthy,  as 
young  men  from  the  public  schools  and  the  Sunday- 
schools,  the  plough  and  the  machine  shop ;  and  Varrell 
and  his  squad,  like  others  of  the  sort,  were  sent  to 
guard  the  Dry  Tortugas.  Since  the  peace  he  has 
changed  his  politics  once  and  not  wisely,  lives  in  New 
York,  but  is  thought  not  to  be  prosperous.1 

1  This  man,  called  Luigi  Varelli  by  Mr.  Dana,  was  commonly 
known  as  Louis  Clark,  and  is  described  in  the  police  records  as  Louis 
Bireal  or  Bieral,  alias  Louis  Clark,  alias  Spanish  Lew,  though  ac- 
cording to  his  own  statement  he  was  born  at  Valparaiso,  Chili,  of 
Portuguese  parents,  about  the  year  1814.  In  his  early  life  he  is  said 
to  have  been  a  prize-fighter,  and  was  one  of  many  similar  characters 
driven  out  of  San  Francisco  by  the  famous  Vigilance  Committee  of 
1851.  Afterwards  a  prominent  "sporting "  character  and  authority, 
he  was  referee  in  the  Morrissey  and  Heenan  prize-fight  of  October 
20,  1858,  and  in  the  celebrated  trotting-match  between  Patchen  and 
Flora  Temple  in  1860. 

He  lived  in  Boston  several  years,  mainly  between  1850  and  1860, 
and  his  name  was  there  connected  with  a  notorious  brothel  kept  by  a 
woman  reputed  sometimes  to  be  his  sister  and  sometimes  his  wife. 


1854.  THE  MARSHAL'S   GUARD.  329 

Perhaps  I  may  be  misled  by  my  personal  connec- 
tion with  this  story,  but  it  has  always  seemed  to  me 

Not  long-  before  the  breaking-  out  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion  he 
moved  to  New  York,  where  he  engaged  in  politics.  He  next  made 
his  appearance  as  captain  of  Company  G,  in  the  1st  California  In- 
fantry regiment  (71st  Pennsylvania),  and  with  it  took  part  in  the  af- 
fair at  Ball's  Bluff  in  October,  1861,  in  which  Colonel  Edward  Dick- 
inson Baker,  then  United  States  Senator  from  Oregon,  was  killed. 
Absurd  stories  were  told  after  that  engagement  and  went  the  rounds 
of  the  press,  of  the  desperate  exploits  of  Bieral  in  defending  the  body 
of  Baker,  and  avenging  his  death  on  the  Confederates  by  the  daring 
and  dexterous  use  of  a  formidable  bowie-knife  While  there  was  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  Bieral  in  this  affair  behaved  otherwise  than 
creditably,  receiving  in  the  course  of  it  a  bullet  wound  in  the  foot, 
his  bowie-knife  performances  were,  it  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say, 
quite  imaginary. 

After  the  close  of  the  rebellion  he  was  appointed  an  inspector  in 
the  New  York  custom-house,  which  position  he  held  for  more  than 
twenty  years.  He  was  several  times  charged  with  accepting  bribes, 
or  improperly  exacting  money  at  the  custom-house,  and  in  1886  was 
removed  from  his  position  for  demanding  and  obtaining  from  a  woman 
two  dollars  for  passing  throug-h  the  customs  a  sewing-machine,  and, 
it  was  alleged,  keeping  the  money.  He  used  every  means  in  his 
power  to  get  reinstated,  and  when  he  failed  of  his  object  became  sul- 
len and  desperate,  claiming  that  he  was  destitute  and  without  other 
means  of  support  than  what  he  derived  from  his  position  as  inspector. 
He  saw  fit  to  hold  Hans  S.  Beattie,  surveyor  of  the  port,  responsible 
for  his  misfortunes,  and  on  the  1st  of  November  rushed  into  the  sur- 
veyor's office  in  the  custom-house  and  shot  him. 

Though  Mr.  Beattie  survived  this  attempt  on  his  life,  its  desperate 
character  renewed  the  recollection  of  Bieral' s  career,  and  he  again 
figured  in  the  columns  of  the  newspapers  as  the  "  avenger  of  Baker" 
He  was  indicted  for  assault  with  attempt  to  kill  and  pleaded  ' '  not 
guilty,"  setting  up  insanity  as  a  defence.  His  trial  took  place  in 
January,  1887,  and  resulted  in  a  verdict  of  guilty,  accompanied  by  a 
recommendation  to  mercy.  On  the  10th  of  March,  being  then,  ac- 
cording to  his  own  statement,  seventy-three  years  of  age,  he  was  sen- 
tenced to  five  years'  confinement  at  hard  labor  in  the  state  prison  at 
Auburn. 

His  exploits  after  the  death  of  Colonel  Baker  are  said  to  have  been 
described  by  Charles  B.  Lewis,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Detroit 
Free  Press,  who  wrote  under  the  pseudonym  "  M  Quad,"  in  his  book 
Field,  Fort  and  Fleet 


330  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  38. 

a  striking  illustration  of  the  strange  ways  in  which 
human  justice  is  worked  out,  and  the  imperfection  of 
its  results. 

Varrell  was  the  chief  criminal,  drew  in  Huxford, 
and  planned  the  whole.  He  escaped  and  was  unsus- 
pected and  was  rewarded.  There  was  absolutely  no 
evidence  against  Huxford,  and  he  would  have  been 
discharged  in  an  hour  had  he  not  stated  a  false  de- 
fence of  an  alibi  and  asked  for  time.  Even  then  he 
would  have  escaped,  had  he  not  broken  faith  with 
his  surety  and  fled.  He  was  convicted  of  a  crime 
of  which  he  was  guilty,  but  by  perjured  testimony. 
That  was  furnished  by  the  vindictiveness  and  self- 
interest  of  Varrell.  One  of  the  perjurers  suffered, 
but  only  from  the  temper  of  a  man  as  bad  as  himself, 
if  not  worse  ;  and  the  other  is  in  almost  affluent  cir- 
cumstances. If  there  were  no  hereafter,  if  it  were 
"  the  be-all,  end-all  here,"  if  there  were  not  entered 
at  the  end  of  each  man's  account,  as  at  the  foot  of 
the  merchant's  ledger,  "carried  forward,"  I  do  not  see 
how  we  could  believe  that  the  world  is  ruled  by  a 
Being  absolutely  just,  omniscient  and  omnipotent. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  COAST  OF  MAINE. COMMISSIONER  LORING.  —  RACHEL. 

RUFUS    CHOATE. JUDGE    WOODBURY   DAVIS. JUDGE 

SHAW. ELIZA  WHARTON. 

In  August  of  this  year  Dana  was  invited  by  William  B. 
Franklin,  afterwards  a  major-general  in  the  civil  war  but 
then  a  lieutenant  of  Topographical  Engineers  in  charge  of 
the  inspection  of  light-houses  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  to  ac- 
company him  on  a  tour  of  inspection.  George  F.  Shepley, 
United  States  District  Attorney  for  Maine  at  that  time  and 
subsequently  (1869-1878)  the  judge  of  the  United  States 
first  circuit  court,  was  also  of  the  party.  Immediately  after 
his  return,  Dana  wrote  a  letter  to  his  wife  in  which  he  gave 
the  following  account  of  what  he  did  and  saw  on  this,  the 
nearest  approach  to  a  yachting  cruise  he  seems  ever  to  have 
made. 

1854.  Manchester,  September  3.  I  suppose  you 
wish  to  hear  about  my  voyage.  I  reached  Portland 
at  ten  P.  M.,  where  Shepley  was  waiting  for  me  and 
took  me  to  his  house.  The  next  day,  as  the  schooner 
had  not  got  in,  I  spent  in  Portland,  chiefly  lying  still 
in  the  house  and  reading  Romilly's  u  Memoirs,"  which 
I  finished.  In  the  afternoon  I  joined  a  party  of  Eng- 
lish and  Canadians  in  an  excursion  down  the  harbor 
in  a  steamer.  In  the  evening  had  John  Neal  at  tea, 
whom  I  found  to  be  a  character,  one  of  the  curiosities 
of  literature,  very  entertaining,  large,  strong,  with  a 
spirited  air,  independent,  quick  in  general,  but  with 
no  malice,  exceedingly  egotistical,  but  not  trouble- 
some on  that  account. 


332  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  39. 

The  next  day  the  schooner  arrived,  but  we  did  not 
sail  until  Thursday  at  noon.  Oh,  how  parched  and 
dusty  everything  was  in  Portland,  and  what  a  relief 
to  be  upon  the  foaming  sea ! 

All   the   light-houses,   buoys    and  beacons   in    the 
United   States   are    placed    under    the   charge   of   a 
scientific  board  of  naval  and  military  men  at  Wash- 
ington, called  the  Light-house  Board,  and  this  Board 
divides  the  coast  into  districts,  over  each  of  which 
an  officer  of  the  Engineer  Corps  (Topographical)  is 
placed  as  inspector.     His  duty  is  to  visit  the  light- 
houses, see  that  the  keepers  do  their  duty,  suggest  im- 
provements, see  to  their  supply,  report  on  new  sites, 
and  see  that  all  buoys  and  beacons  are  in  their  places. 
This  is   a  new  system,  and    has   been   in   operation 
with  excellent  results  for  two  years.     Each  inspector 
has  a  vessel  at  his  command,  in  which  to  make  his 
tours.     Lieutenant  Franklin  has  charge  of  the  coast 
of  Maine.     He  is  married  and  lives  in  Portland,  and 
makes   excursions    from   there    east  and   west.     The 
vessel  is  a  schooner  of  about  eighty  tons,  a  Baltimore 
clipper,  and  a  pretty  little  craft.      Franklin,  Shepley 
and  I   had    the    cabin   to   ourselves,  the   master  and 
mate  living  forward,  and  I  found  everything  agree- 
able.    Uncle  Sam's  rations  are  not  abundant,  but  we 
supplied  some  deficiencies,  and    had  a  good  stock  of 
porter  and  ale  and  claret.     I  believe  I  was  made  for 
the  sea,  and   that   all  my   life   on  shore  is  a  mistake. 
I  was  intended  by  nature  for  a  general  roamer  and 
traveller   by   sea  and  land,  with   occasional   edits  of 
narratives,  and  my  duties  as  lawyer,  scholar  and  pub- 
licist are  all  out  of  the  way.     To  me  the  sea  is  never 
monotonous.     Whether  in  calm  or  blow,  in  fog   or 
clear  sky,  it  is  full  of  interest  and  variety.     At  sea 


1854.  THE   COAST  OF  MAINE.  333 

we  have  the  same  variety  of  sky  that  we  have  on 
shore,  and  changes  of  the  surface  which  the  landsman 
never  sees.  Imagine  that  by  changes  of  wind,  calm 
or  storms,  the  landscape  should  be  thrown  into  hills 
or  smoothed  into  a  prairie  before  your  sight,  as  you 
sit  at  your  window  !  I  like  a  dull,  heaving  calm,  and 
when  the  fresh  breeze  raises  the  sea  into  billows  and 
they  rush  foaming  past  you,  and  your  vessel  bounds 
over  them,  there  is  an  ecstasy  of  delight  which  thrills 
every  nerve. 

The  coast  of  Maine  is  the  most  beautiful  and  in- 
teresting coast  in  America,  and  I  know  of  no  coast  in 
the  world  where  there  are,  in  the  same  short  space  of 
150  miles  or  so,  so  many  harbors,  bays,  sounds,  inlets, 
reaches,  islands  and  headlands  ;  besides  that,  there 
are  no  wastes  of  sand ;  but  the  soil,  although  mostly 
light  and  barren,  is  still  a  soil  with  some  verdure  and 
forests  of  evergreen  trees,  with  high  hills  and  small 
mountains  come  quite  down  to  the  shore  as  at  Man- 
chester. The  finest  yachting  ground  I  have  ever 
seen  is  the  "Edgemoggin  Reach,"  a  sound  formed  by 
the  mainland  on  one  side  and  a  stretch  of  islands  on 
the  other  about  thirty  miles  long  and  from  three  to 
five  wide,  lying  between  the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot 
and  Mount  Desert.  We  visited  S^guin  Light,  St. 
George's,  Booth  Bay,  Townsend,  White  Head,  Owl's 
Head,  Thomaston  (Rockland),  Camden,  Pumpkin 
Island,  Bear  Island,  Becker's  Island,  Mount  Desert, 
South-west  Harbor,  North-east  Harbor,  and  returned 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot,  where  I  took  the 
steamer  from  Bangor  to  Boston,  having  been  absent 
from  Boston  ten  days,  and  on  board  the  vessel  eight 
days.  It  has  been  as  invigorating  and  reviving  an 
excursion  as  I  ever  took,  and  I  have  enjoyed  every 


334  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  39. 

moment.  It  has  brought  back  my  old  sea-life  more 
than  anything  that  has  occurred  to  me  since,  espe- 
cially the  landing  in  boats,  of  which  we  had  a  good 
deal.  Every  day  was  fine  weather,  except  a  few 
hours  of  rain  one  evening,  and  one  day  of  very  heavy 
swell,  which  rolled  us  about  too  much.  Franklin 
was  on  General  Taylor's  staff  at  Buena  Vista,  and  I 
got  from  him  full  accounts  of  that  battle  and  of  the 
war  generally.  Shepley,  too,  is  a  very  pleasant  com- 
panion, and  has  a  good  deal  of  fun.  We  breakfasted 
at  seven,  dined  at  twelve,  had  tea  at  six,  and  supper, 
with  porter  and  ale,  at  nine.  We  had  no  adventure, 
except  that  I  took  Franklin  and  Shepley  to  an  island 
a  few  miles  off  in  a  sailboat  belonging  to  the  vessel, 
to  visit  a  light,  and,  beating  back  against  a  heavy  sea 
and  strong  wind,  carried  away  the  mast,  breaking  it 
short  off  at  the  throat.  But  we  had  got  within  a 
mile  or  two  of  the  vessel  on  our  way  back,  and  expe- 
rienced no  difficulty. 

Mount  Desert  is  a  beautiful  region,  made  up  by 
islands,  high,  rocky  and  picturesque,  through  which 
the  sea  runs  up  into  very  pretty  harbors  and  inlets, 
and  the  vessels  run  up  among  the  hills  and  lie  under 
their  shelter.  The  light-house,  seen  from  the  sea, 
looks  as  if  it  were  away  up  in  the  country,  shining  at 
the  base  of  a  high  hill. 

The  diary  supplements  this  letter  with  the  following  notes 
of  Lieutenant  Franklin's  talk  about  the  Mexican  war,  Gen- 
eral Taylor  and  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  and  describes 
also  a  visit  to  Professor  Bache's  coast  survey  encampment 
among  the  Camden  hills. 

Franklin  had  been  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  was  in 
General  Taylor's  staff  at  Buena  Vista.  From  him  I 
gained  a  full  account  of  the  battle,  with  many  little 


1854.  THE   COAST  OF  MAINE.  335 

hints  and  anecdotes  as  to  soldier's  life,  all  quite  inter- 
esting. This  account  of  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista 
agrees  with  that  which  Bliss  gave  me.  They  agree 
that  at  the  end  of  the  day  our  army  was  exhausted, 
dispirited,  its  vigor  and  morale  gone,  and  that  they 
all  looked  forward  to  the  next  day  as  to  certain  de- 
struction before  this  overwhelming  force,  and  that 
the  retreat  of  the  Mexicans  was  unexpected.  We 
woke  up  and  found  ourselves  victors  instead  of  vic- 
tims. It  flashed  upon  us  that  we  had  gained  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  victories  of  modern  times,  when 
we  expected  a  day  of  certain  destruction.  He  says 
that  all  the  story  of  the  Mississippi  regiment  using 
their  bowie-knives  is  entirely  false.  They  used  only 
the  rifle-ball,  and  not  even  bayonets.  He  spoke  very 
highly  of  Lincoln,  and  says  he  was  killed  by  a  shot 
through  the  back  of  the  head  when  facing  a  regi- 
ment, riding  in  front,  and  encouraging  them  on  at 
a  critical  moment  when  they  were  faltering  under  a 
severe  fire.  His  situation  was  a  most  exposed  one, 
a  situation  which  it  would  have  been  mere  foolhardi- 
ness  to  take,  except  under  the  circumstances  of  this 
battle,  where  our  troops  were  chiefly  volunteers,  and 
all  depended  on  the  officers.  Lincoln  was  Acting 
Adjutant  General,  and  had  no  command  of  the  regi- 
ment, but  seeing  them  falter  he  rode  in  front  and 
cheered  them  on  by  example  as  well  as  by  word. 

Franklin  says  that  Bliss  was  the  ablest  young  man 
in  the  army.  But  the  entire  credit  of  the  battle  he 
gives  to  Taylor.  There  was  a  power  in  old  Tay- 
lor's presence,  in  his  mere  name,  the  mere  confidence 
that  he  was  there,  which  kept  up  the  day.  He  told 
me  it  was  his  firm  belief  that  if  Taylor  had  been 
killed,  or  if  he  had  been  detained  two  hours  more  at 


336  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  39. 

Saltillo,  the  whole  army  would  have  been  on  the  full 
ruu.  He  agreed,  too,  with  the  general  account  that 
the  artillery  saved  the  day ;  but  he  does  not  give  the 
credit  of  this  to  Bragg  any  more  than  to  Sherman. 
He  says  it  is  the  mere  accident  of  Bragg's  propos- 
ing to  Taylor  to  retreat,  and  Taylor's  saying  to  him 
that  there  must  be  no  retreat,  and  to  "give  them 
grape,  Captain  Bragg,"  that  has  popularly  connected 
Bragg's  name  more  with  the  battle  than  Sherman's. 

Franklin  saw  O'Brien  lose  every  man  in  his  bat- 
tery and  his  guns,  and  save  only  his  own  life.  He 
agrees  with  Bliss,  too,  in  the  belief  that  if  the  artil- 
lery had  not  repulsed  the  charge  of  the  cavalry  (as 
by  all  the  rules  and  chances  of  war  they  could  not 
do)  our  defeat  was  certain. 

Bliss  told  me  that  Taylor  did  not  speak  to  Bragg 
at  the  time,  and  all  the  story  about  ua  little  more 
grape  "  was  a  fable.  But  Franklin  says  he  was  by 
Taylor's  side  when  Bragg  rode  up  and  told  Taylor 
that  he  was  unsupported  by  infantry  and  could  not 
maintain  his  post,  and  that  Taylor  replied,  "  You 
must  maintain  your  post.  There  is  no  choice.  You 
must  do  it.  If  they  get  near  give  them  grape." 
He  also  says  that  nearly  all  the  officers  at  the  coun- 
cil of  war  held  that  night  were  in  favor  of  retreat- 
ing. If  this  had  been  done,  both  armies  would  have 
been  in  full  retreat  at  the  same  time. 

Franklin  says  that  the  war  had  a  bad  effect  on  our 
officers,  producing  a  great  deal  of  intemperance  and 
gambling,  and  ruining  many  fine  fellows.  I  was  sur- 
prised to  hear  him  speak  of  one  and  another,  living 
and  dead,  who  had  become  intemperate,  or  formed 
ruinous  habits  of  gambling,  and  he  says  that  many 
outrages   were  committed  on  the  Mexicans,  less  no 


1854.  THE   COAST  OF  MAINE.  337 

doubt  than  by  conquering  armies  generally,  but  still 
enough  to  give  one  a  dreadful  idea  of  military  con- 
quest, and  he  himself  is  not  a  man  of  peculiarly  deli- 
cate organization,  or  of  fastidious  moral  sense,  but 
simply  an  average,  honest-minded  man  of  average 
morals  and  tastes.  .  .  . 

I  was  landed  at  Camden  about  eleven  A.  M.  of 
Thursday,  August  31.  As  I  had  several  hours  on 
my  hands  I  rode  up  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain  and 
walked  up  to  Bache's  encampment.  The  entire  scen- 
ery about  Camden  is  unusually  picturesque,  even  for 
the  sea-coast  of  Maine.  Near  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain, in  the  midst  of  the  deepest  and  richest  foliage 
of  oaks  and  evergreens,  with  the  exquisite  perfume  of 
the  spruce  tree  pervading  all,  stood  the  company  of 
snow-white  tents.  The  effect  as  you  turn  the  path 
and  come  suddenly  upon  it  is  quite  picturesque.  In 
the  tents  were  officers  writing  and  reading,  and  the 
servants  at  their  various  avocations.  Found  Mr. 
Bache  in  a  tent  divided  into  two  apartments,  one 
occupied  by  himself,  and  in  the  other,  which  is  the 
sleeping-room,  was  Mrs.  Bache  sewing.  Mrs.  Bache 
always  accompanies  her  husband  in  his  camp  duty. 
Although  the  day  was  warm  he  had  a  fire,  and  sat 
with  a  cloak  about  his  chair.  His  table  was  covered 
with  books  and  papers,  and  he  seemed  busily  at  work. 
The  weather  had  been  too  thick  for  observations  for 
several  days,  and  the  smoke  from  the  fires  in  the 
woods  had  obscured  several  points.  I  stayed  to  dine. 
Mr3.  Bache  was  a  Newport  lady  and  a  friend  of  Mrs. 
Professor  Channing,  and  I  found  her  quite  agreeable. 
Mr.  Bache  is  a  calm,  quiet,  well-bred  man,  with  an 
appearance  of  thoughtful ness  and  of  determination, 
and  impressed  me  very  favorably.     He  was  very  at- 


338  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  39. 

tentive,  but  I  left  immediately  after  dinner  for  fear 
of  interrupting  his  labors. 

November  5.  I  have  just  read  "  The  Heir  of  Red- 
clyffe."  Oh,  that  my  eyes  were  rivers  and  my  head 
a  fountain  of  tears  !  Read  it  all  young  men  and 
young  women !  Never  have  I  seen  the  religious 
character,  elevated  virtue,  struggles  with  evil,  the 
pure,  unostentatious,  noble,  heroic,  chivalrous  good- 
ness, portrayed  in  so  affecting,  so  captivating  a  man- 
ner. Guy!  Poor,  dear,  noble  Guy  !  Would  to  God 
the  impression  of  this  book  might  never  leave  me  ; 
that  it  might  be  with  me  in  life  and  in  death!  In 
all  time  of  my  prosperity,  in  all  time  of  my  tribula- 
tion, especially  in  all  the  time  of  my  prosperity, 
which  is  always  the  trying  time  with  me.  I  have 
done  nothing  but  sigh  and  weep  all  day,  and  the  ser- 
vices at  church  kept  me  in  almost  constant  tears. 
Guy  and  Amy  were  so  real  to  me,  that  it  was  a 
mournful  pleasure  to  me  to  go  through  the  same  ser- 
vice that  they  went  through,  to  read  their  psalms  and 
lessons.  And  it  happening  to  be  the  Sunday  after 
All  Saints,  the  clergyman  preached  on  the  "  Com- 
munion of  Saints."     It  was  more  than  I  could  bear. 

"  Guy's  Sea,"  as  poor  Amy  called  it,  overcomes  me 
at  every  recurrence.     Then  the  lines  from  Sewell :  — 

"A  stranger's  roof  to  hold  thy  head, 
A  stranger's  foot  thy  grave  to  tread 
Desert  and  rock  and  Alp  and  sea 
Spreading  between  thy  home  and  thee !  " 

There  is  something  in  Guy  that  reminds  me  of 
myself,  but  how  sad  is  the  difference  !  In  his  love 
of  adventure,  his  devotion  to  the  sea,  the  rocks  and 
the  wild  scenery,  his  love  of  boats,  his  turn  for  ro- 
mance and  heroic  adventure,  his  sober  seriousness  as 


1854.  THE   COAST  OF  MAINE.  339 

a  lover,  the  melancholy  devotedness  of  his  courtship, 
his  youthfulness  and  elasticity,  —  in  all  these  I  am 
reminded  of  some  of  the  best  points  in  my  own  life 
and  character.  In  a  general  desire  to  be  elevated 
and  religious,  and  in  the  power  of  such  things  to 
touch  me,  I  am  like  him.  But  also,  I  have  no  con- 
stancy, little  of  his  power  of  self-discipline,  his  reso- 
lution, his  moral  courage,  and  far,  far  behind  him  in 
purity.  He  was  pure.  He  was  a  constant  striver 
for  victory.  I  am  only  an  occasional  struggler  be- 
tween long  intervals  of  ease,  indifference  and  self-in- 
dulgence. He  had  a  sure  hope  and  affections  fixed 
on  the  world  to  come.  Nearly  all  my  portion  is  in 
this  life.  My  thoughts  are  here,  my  treasure  is  here, 
Heaven  and  the  spiritual  world  are  unreal  to  me, 
and  I  have  no  power  to  bear  mental  suffering,  be- 
cause I  have  no  sure  hold  on  what  is  beyond. 

God  grant  that  the  cares  of  this  life  may  not  de- 
stroy me.  I  feel  that  if  I  were  independent  of  my 
profession,  and  my  wife  were  spared  to  me,  and  we 
could  together  give  ourselves  to  contemplation,  to 
religious  exercises,  to  nature,  to  art,  to  the  best  of 
reading  and  study,  spending  much  of  our  time  at  the 
dear,  dear  shore,  we  should  be  more  elevated,  more 
tender,  more  fit  for  a  spiritual  world.  My  only  stay 
at  such  times  is  the  thought  that  God  assigns  us  our 
duties.  My  duty  is  clear.  I  must  support  myself 
and  my  family,  and  earn  a  competency  for  them  by 
my  profession.  This  requires  indefatigable  labor. 
All  I  can  do  is  to  aim  at  a  life  of  rectitude  and  in- 
tegrity, and  to  keep  my  better  nature  open  to  influ- 
ences by  books,  by  poetry  and  eloquence,  by  nature, 
and  by  as  much  attendance  on  the  worship  of  God 
as  my  time  will  permit.     But  shall  I  do  this  ?     No, 


340  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  39. 

if  I  am  to  judge  from  the  past.  God  keep  in  me  the 
hope  and  the  effort,  work  in  me  to  will  and  to  do  ! 
Amen. 

November  15.  ...  I  heard  a  capital  thing  said  by 
Dr.   Lieber.      Speaking   of   visiting   at    Lenox   and 

Stoekbridge,  among  the ,  he  said  he  felt  like  St. 

Joseph  in  the  pictures  of  the  Holy  Family,  the  only 
one  of  the  company  that  had  not  a  halo  round  his 
head.  Any  one  who  has  visited  among  them  can 
appreciate  and  enjoy  this.  .  .  .  This  week  we  have 
been  trying  the  case  of  the  bark  Missouri  for  salvage. 
I  put  upon  the  stand  Captain  Pitman,  who  had  been 
engaged  in  the  embezzlement  of  the  specie  with 
Dixey,  the  master  of  the  Missouri,  on  the  coast  of 
Sumatra.  He  testified  that  Dixey  proposed  it,  and 
tried  to  persuade  him  into  and  offered  many  induce- 
ments, that  he  said  they  would  be  discovered  and 
convicted,  but  Dixey  said  they  would  not,  and  tried 
to  persuade  him  that  it  was  safe.  Choate  cross-ex- 
amined him  as  to  those  inducements  pretty  strictly, 
and  wished  to  know  what  the  inducements  were. 
Pitman  said  there  was  one  he  did  not  know  whether 
he  ought  to  mention. 

Choqte.     You  may  keep  it  secret,  if  you  prefer. 

Dana.  No,  Captain  Pitman,  let  us  know  all  about 
it. 

Pitman.  Well,  sir,  he  said  that  if  we  were  detected 
he  would  get  Mr.  Choate  to  defend  us,  and  he  would 
get  us  off  if  the  money  was  found  in  our  boots. 

It  was  a  good  many  minutes  before  the  court  and 
audience  recovered  its  gravity. 

December  16.  Dined  at  the  Albion  in  a  select 
company,  of  Emerson,  Lowell,  Alcott,  Goddard  (of 
Cincinnati,  lecturer),  an  English  gentleman  named 


1855.  JUDGE  LORING.  341 

Cholmondely  (Oxford  graduate),  a  clever  and  prom- 
ising Cambridge  student  named  Sanborn,  and  Wood- 
man.  It  was  very  agreeable.  Emerson  is  an  excel- 
lent dinner-table  man,  always  a  gentleman,  never 
bores  or  preaches  or  dictates,  but  drops  and  takes  up 
topics  very  agreeably,  and  has  even  skill  and  tact  in 
managing  his  conversation.  So,  indeed,  has  Alcott ; 
and  it  is  quite  surprising  to  see  these  transcendental- 
ists  appearing  well  as  men  of  the  world. 

1855.  March.  Petitions  have  been  sent  to  the  Leg- 
islature for  the  removal  of  Judge  Loring  from  the 
judgeship  of  probate.  If  they  are  founded  upon  the 
notion  that,  in  discharging  the  duty  of  commissioner 
in  the  Burns  case  he  acted  from  any  corrupt  or  wil- 
ful motive,  or  was  wanting  in  kindness  and  fairness 
in  his  treatment  of  Burns  or  his  counsel,  it  is  a  mis- 
take. If  founded  on  the  opinion  that  in  acting  at  all 
as  commissioner  he  violated  any  law  or  the  spirit  of 
any  law  of  Massachusetts,  it  is  a  mistake.  If  founded 
on  the  opinion  that,  without  either  of  these  reasons, 
he  ought  to  be  removed  because  of  his  acting  as  mag- 
istrate in  a  slave  case,  my  own  opinion  is  that  it  is 
far  better  for  Massachusetts  first  to  put  herself  right 
upon  the  record,  to  pass  a  law  prohibiting  such  an 
act,  and  then  to  punish  all  who  transgress  it.  This 
is  more  dignified  in  the  state,  and  safer  as  a  precedent 
as  regards  the  independence  of  the  judges.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  no  man  in  the  state  was  in  a  situation  to 
act  with  as  much  effect  as  I,  seeing  that  I  was  counsel 
for  Burns,  known  to  be  an  opponent  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law,  and  hostile  to  Judge  Loring  and  his  set. 
It  seemed  to  me  therefore  that  it  was  my  duty  to 
come  forward,  not  in  his  defence,  but  in  defence  of 
the  principle,  and  to  save  the  anti-slavery  cause  from 
doing  something  it  might  regret. 


342  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  39. 

I  first  called  on  Franklin  Dexter  and  President 
Quincy,  to  get  them  to  head  a  remonstrance  and 
become  responsible  for  the  counteraction.  My  inter- 
vie  w  with  Mr.  Quincy  was  very  gratifying.  It  was 
a  noble  spectacle  to  see  this  venerable  man  of  eighty- 
five  with  his  memory  and  all  his  powers  about  him, 
grand,  stately,  simple,  a  relic  of  great  times  gone  by, 
born  before  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  six  years  old 
at  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  whose  father 
had  died  in  the  cause,  a  member  of  Congress  under 
Jefferson's  administration.  His  views  on  the  subject 
were  clear.  He  wished  Loring  punished  and  his  set, 
the  clique  of  the  Curtises  put  down,  but  he  thought 
his  removal  would  be  a  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the 
Constitution,  yet  he  said  that  it  was  an  irresponsible 
hand  that  struck  the  blow,  a  "Know-Nothing"  legis- 
lature, and  their  act  would  be  no  precedent.  He  pre- 
ferred, therefore,  to  stand  by  and  see  it  done  rather 
than  to  interfere. 

Mr.  Dexter's  views  were  much  the  same.  Yet  he 
was  more  willing  to  act,  were  it  not  for  his  extreme 
dislike  to  the  Curtis  faction.  He  said  "  If  they  were 
a  tyranny,  I  would  fight  them  ;  but  they  are  a  pesti- 
lence, and  I  shun  them." 

The  advice  of  neither  of  these  gentlemen  was  quite 
satisfactory.  Mr.  Dexter  is  always  too  fastidious, 
and  "  reasons  too  precisely  on  the  event,"  and  thus 
seldom  acts  with  effect.  He  is  entirely  independent 
of  everything  but  his  own  tastes  and  antipathies,  but 
he  is  the  slave  of  them.  He  is  fearless  of  man,  but 
does  not  care  enough  for  any  man  to  risk  anything, 
or  to  stir  himself.  Mr.  Quincy  reasoned  too  much 
like  a  politician,  it  seemed  to  me.  He  wished  to  let 
the  Know-Nothings  injure  themselves,  and  was  willing 


1855.  JUDGE  LORING.  343 

that  an  irresponsible  hand  should  strike  the  blow. 
My  answer  is  that  I  do  not  feel  myself  wise  enough 
to  limit  and  define  beforehand  the  consequences  of 
an  act  I  think  illegal  and  wrong,  which  touches  vital 
principles  of  the  Constitution. 

I  called  on  Mr.  Adams  (C.  F.),  but  he  was  away. 
Being  obliged  to  go  to  Dedham,  I  could  consult  no 
more,  and  was  obliged  to  commit  myself  to  action 
without  further  opportunity  for  advice. 

My  course  was  to  appear  in  behalf  of  certain  re- 
monstrants who  are  anti-slavery  men  —  entirely  dis- 
tinct from  Judge  Loring  and  his  friends,  and  not  in 
any  professional  capacity. 

March  6.  After  several  delays  and  adjournments, 
I  appeared  to-day  before  the  committee  and  made 
a  long  address  upon  the  subject.  I  endeavored  to 
lay  down  the  true  principle  as  to  the  right  of  re- 
moval by  address,  and  to  illustrate  and  enforce,  to 
present  rules  and  suggestions  in  the  way  of  public 
policy  and  discretion,  and  then  to  do  justice  to  the 
conduct  of  Judge  Loring,  as  to  the  modus  operandi, 
as  to  which  I  think  the  petitioners  are  misrepresent- 
ing him.  I  believe  my  speech  had  a  decided  effect 
not  only  on  the  committee,  but  on  the  large  audi- 
ence. It  is  a  narrow  plank  to  walk.  I  think  Judge 
Loring  did  wrong  in  acting  as  commissioner  while 
he  was  a  Massachusetts  judge.  I  think  his  decision 
was  wrong.  I  dislike  exceedingly  the  spirit  of  his 
friends  and  supporters,  but  I  think  he  ought  not  to 
be  removed.     My  speech  will  be  published.1 

1  Remarks  of  Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  Esq.,  before  the  Committee  on 
Federal  Relations,  on  the  proposed  removal  of  Edward  G.  Loring  from 
the  Office  of  Judge  of  Probate,  March  5,  1855.  Boston  :  Printed  by 
Alfred  Miidge  &  Son.     1855.     28  pp. 


344  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.  39. 

March  30.  Friday.  Anthony  Burns  called  to  see 
me,  with  his  clergyman,  Rev.  Mr.  Grimes,  to  thank 
me  for  my  defence,  and  to  pay  his  respects.  He 
appeared  very  well,  in  good  health  and  spirits.  He 
seems  a  modest,  conscientious  man,  and  his  story 
must  be  drawn  from  him. 

He  told  me  that  he  was  put  in  irons  as  soon  as  he 
arrived  in  Richmond,  which  was  early  in  the  sum- 
mer. He  was  put  in  a  slave  jail  and  kept  there,  in 
close  confinement  and  in  irons,  both  on  his  hands 
and  on  his  feet,  until  November,  except  during  a  few 
weeks  when  he  had  a  violent  fever  and  the  irons 
were  taken  off  by  order  of  the  physician.  These 
irons  were  not  for  security  but  for  punishment,  as  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  escape  without  them.  In 
November  Colonel  Suttle  put  him  up  at  auction. 
He  was  more  tlmn  an  hour  on  the  block  before  there 
were  any  bids  of  consequence.  The  crowd  were  ex- 
asperated against  him  for  his  former  escape,  and 
threatened  him  so  much  that  Suttle  thought  him  in 
danger,  and  got  a  gang  of  some  twenty  or  thirty 
men  to  stand  by  to  protect  him.  Burns  said  this 
was  not  because  Suttle  cared  for  his  life  or  limbs,  but 
because  he  was  his  property  and  was  afraid  he  would 
be  injured  so  as  to  reduce  his  value.  At  length  he 
was  bid  off  to  a  Mr.  McDaniel  of  North  Carolina,  a 
slave-trader,  for  $910.  ,  McDaniel  was  obliged  to 
carry  him  away  by  night  for  fear  of  the  mob. 

In  North  Carolina  he  was  well  treated  by  McDan- 
iel, who  is  a  bold,  frank  fellow,  and  whose  object 
was  to  speculate  in  him.  McDaniel  soon  got  into  cor- 
respondence with  Burns's  friends  here,  and  at  last 
agreed  to  deliver  him  at  Baltimore  for  $1,300  and 
expenses,  making  a  profit  of  $400.     This  agreement 


he  was  obliged  to  keep  secret,  for  if  it  had  been 
known  that  Burns  was  to  be  restored  there  would 
have  been  danger  to  his  life.  On  the  way  to  Balti- 
more several  times  people  in  the  conveyances  learn- 
ing McDaniel's  name,  and  suspecting  that  he  was 
taking  Burns  north,  became  violent,  and  in  a  steam- 
boat McDaniel  had  to  stand  at  the  door  three  hours 
with  his  revolver  loaded  and  capped. 

I  showed  Burns  the  window  of  the  room  in  the 
court-house  where  he  was  confined,  and  the  court- 
room. What  a  change,  and  what  a  life  for  an  ob- 
scure negro  !  One  of  several  millions  of  obscure  ne- 
groes, he  escaped  to  Boston,  and  is  as  obscure  there, 
when  in  a  day  his  name  is  telegraphed  all  over  the 
Union,  millions  await  the  decision  of  his  fate  in  anx- 
ious suspense,  riots  and  bloodshed  occur,  the  heart  of 
a  nation  is  aroused  ;  over  his  body  is  the  great  strug- 
gle between  the  moral  sense  of  a  people  and  the 
written  law  backed  by  armed  power ;  half  a  nation 
is  humiliated  and  half  a  nation  triumphant  as  the 
scale  is  turned ;  to  him  freedom  for  life  or  servitude 
for  life  hangs  in  suspense ;  the  die  turns  for  slavery, 
bonds  and  imprisonment  await  him  ;  but  the  eyes  of 
a  nation  are  on  him,  again  humane  hearts  beat,  and 
he  is  purchased  to  freedom ;  and  now  revisits  the 
scene  of  his  agony  of  trial  a  hero,  a  martyr,  with 
crowds  of  the  learned  and  intelligent  of  a  civilized 
community  listening  to  his  words!  Who  can  tell 
what  a  day  may  bring  forth  ?  Who  can  tell  what 
are  the  things  and  which  are  the  men  that  are  to 
move  the  world  ? 

The  subsequent  life  of  Anthony  Burns  can  be  told  in  few- 
words.  Rejecting  with  manly  self-respect  an  offer  from 
Barnum  to  exhibit  himself  at  the  Museum  of  the  showman 


346  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  39. 

in  New  York,  and  refusing  in  any  way  to  make  the  story 
of  his  wrongs  a  means  of  livelihood,  Burns,  who  had  as  a 
slave  been  a  preacher,  determined,  now  that  he  was  a  free- 
man, to  become  a  clergyman.  He  was  offered  a  scholar- 
ship at  Oberlin,  which  he  at  once  accepted,  and  early  in  the 
summer  of  1855  entered  upon  his  studies.  In  due  course 
of  time  he  was  ordained  as  a  minister  of  the  Baptist  per- 
suasion, and  subsequently  was  settled  over  a  church  at  St. 
Catherines  in  Canada.     He  there  died  July  27, 1862. 

I  have  every  reason  to  be  gratified  and  satisfied 
with  the  course  I  took  in  opposing  the  removal  of 
Judge  Loring.  It  is  wise  to  take  advice  of  the  el- 
ders, and  always  right  to  weigh  it  well,  but  not  always 
necessary  to  follow  it.  My  instincts  taught  me  that 
my  course  was  right,  and  I  felt  that  the  advice  of 
Dexter  and  Qivincy  was  too  politic  and  cautious; 
Dexter' s,  from  fastidiousness,  and  Mr.  Quincy's,  prob- 
ably from  a  really  doubtful  state  of  mind,  a  desire 
to  see  the  thing  done. 

Except  an  abusive  article  in  the  "  Atlas,"  by  Hil- 
dreth,  which  the  u  Telegraph  "  had  declined  to  pub- 
lish, and  a  very  unfair  letter  to  the  "New  York 
Evening  Post,"  I  suspect  from  Hildreth  also,  who  is 
as  venomous  and  deaf  as  an  adder,  I  have  been  well 
treated,  and  the  amount  of  compliment  and  congrat- 
ulation heaped  upon  me  by  the  best  of  men  has  been 
gratifying  in  the  extreme.  I  feel,  too,  that  I  have 
been  the  means  of  bringing  the  anti-slavery  senti- 
ment of  the  State  to  a  stand-still  and  reconsideration 
upon  the  subject,  and  rallying  the  public  sentiment ; 
for  no  one  else  moved  in  the  matter,  and  no  one  could 
have  moved  so  effectually  as  I  could,  having  been 
Burns's  counsel,  and  having  all  the  natural  feeling  of 
one  who  had  lost  his  case. 


1855.  JUDGE   WRING.  347 

The  committee  have  behaved  shabbily.  After 
telling  me  distinctly  that  they  wanted  no  testimony 
on  the  subject  of  Judge  Loring's  conduct,  as  they 
should  not  base  their  report  at  all  upon  that,  and 
that  I  need  not  introduce  Mr.  Grimes  or  any  other 
witness,  they  not  only  did  base  their  report  upon  it, 
but  they  procured  additional  testimony  against  him. 
This  is  very  mean,  but  I  do  not  know  how  I  shall 
avail  myself  of  it.  The  report  is  a  wretched  affair, 
perhaps  the  poorest  state  document  I  ever  saw ;  but 
little  better  could  be  expected  from  such  a  committee. 
Yet  even  at  that,  there  was  only  a  majority  of  one 
in  its  favor. 

After  long  consideration  and  exciting  debate  the  address 
asking  for  the  removal  of  Judge  Loring  passed  the  Legisla- 
ture, but  Henry  J.  Gardner,  then  governor,  declined  to  ac- 
cede to  it.  When,  in  1857,  N.  P.  Banks  became  governor, 
the  agitation  of  the  question  was  renewed,  and  in  1858,  John 
A.  Andrew  being  then  the  leader  of  the  Republican  side  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  an  address  was  again  passed. 
Thereupon  Judge  Loring  was  removed.  He  was  immedi- 
ately appointed  by  President  Buchanan  a  judge  of  the 
United  States  Court  of  Claims,  which  position  he  held  until 
December,  1877,  a  term  of  nearly  twenty  years.  He  then, 
having  passed  the  age  of  seventy  years,  resigned. 

June  3.  All  last  week  I  was  at  Worcester,  trying 
the  case  of  Commonwealth  vs.  Horace  Ives,  on  a 
charge  of  embezzlement.  Called  on  Judge  Allen, 
and  had  a  long  talk  with  him  about  politics.  He 
says  no  one  who  was  not  on  the  spot  can  form  any 
opinion- of  the  manner  in  which  Webster  appeared 
in  the  Senate  after  his  7th  of  March  speech,  when 
the  slave  questions  came  up  occasionally.  He  was 
evidently  in  a  work  for  which  he  had  no  heart,  and 


848  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  40. 

as   to   which    his   conscience   was   not   easy.     Judge 
Allen  said,  "  One  could  not  but  pity  him." 

June  17.  Made  my  annual  pilgrimage  to  Bunker 
Hill,  at  sundown,  and  took  in  the  noble  coup  d'oeil, 
and  recalled  the  ideas  which  that  spot  always  fur- 
nishes to  the  mind  either  at  all  patriotic,  or  at  all 
thoughtful. 

November  4.  Sunday  evening.  The  absorbing 
occupations  of  law  and  politics  have  prevented  my 
keeping  up  my  journal  the  last  two  months.  Since 
my  last  date  we  have  held  our  convention  at  Worces- 
ter. Its  history  is  to  be  found  in  my  "  Report "  to 
the  people  of  Cambridge,  printed  in  the  "  Atlas  "  of 
last  week.  The  temporal  questions  of  men,  and  the 
gossip,  is  well  enough  passed  by;  but  we  think  the 
triumph  of  the  Republican  cause  to  be  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  the  cause  of  freedom  in  the  struggle 
with  the  slave  oligarchy. 

Sumner  made  a  noble  speech  at  Faneuil  Hall  Fri- 
day night,  before  a  crowded  assembly,  at  which  I  pre- 
sided. Seward's  speech  at  Albany,  on  the  "  privi- 
leged classes,"  the  oligarchy  of  slavery,  has  been  the 
key-note  of  the  new  party. 

Rachel  has  been  here,  and  I  have  seen  her  twice, 
once  as  Phedre,  and  once  as  Adrienne  Lecouvreur. 
She  is  the  greatest  person  I  ever  saw  upon  a  stage. 
She  is  absolutely  free  from  the  stage  artifices  and 
tricks,  even  the  traditionary  mannerisms  of  the  stage, 
in  attitudes,  gait,  gesture  and  tones  of  voice.  All  is 
her  own.  Though  there  may  be  an  excess  of  art,  it 
is  apparently  simple  and  natural.  It  is  an  art 
wrought  out  by  herself  from  practice  on  her  own  na- 
ture. You  do  not  know  how  she  comes  on  the  stage 
or  goes  off.    Her  easy  parts  are  easily  played,  and  her 


1855-56.  RACHEL.  349 

passionate  parts  cut  to  the  quick.  In  Phedre  I  was 
surprised  at  the  tenderness,  the  sympathetic  and  fem- 
inine character  of  her  expression  and  action.  She  was 
more  touching  than  startling.  Her  hair  is  raven 
black,  black  as  night,  her  eyes  small,  but  they  have 
expressions  one  never  saw  before  and  can  never  for- 
get, their  beauty  >s  in  their  socketing.  She  is  but 
little,  if  at  all,  above  middle  height,  very  slight  and 
thin,  her  face  thin,  with  an  olive  complexion,  as  it 
seems  by  gas-light.  Wicked  beyond  measure  the 
scandal  of  the  day  makes  her.  There  must  be  foun- 
dation for  this,  even  if  it  be  exaggerated.  She  inter- 
ested me  extremely,  though  I  fancied  I  could  see, 
perhaps  from  prepossession,  room  and  verge  enough 
for  an  evil  spirit.  .  .  . 

Judge  Hoar  reports  a  £Ood  thing  of  a  shrewd  old 
fellow  in  the  country  who  listened  to  a  theological 
discussion  upon  the  difference  between  Unitarians 
and  Universalists,  and  said  the  only  difference  he 
could  ever  see  between  them  was  that  the  Universal- 
ists thought  God  was  too  good  to  damn  them,  and  the 
Unitarians  thought  they  were  too  good  to  be  damned. 

1856.  February  17.  An  obituary  of  Mr.  [Ed- 
ward Tyrrel]  Channing  in  the  "  Daily  Advertiser  " 
of  the  15th  inst.  is  by  me. 

25.  Wednesday.  R.  W.  Emerson  lectured  at 
Cambridge  this  evening,  the  subject  being  "  Stone- 
henge  and  Carlyle."  It  was  an  easy,  pleasant  nar- 
rative of  a  visit  he  made  to  Stonehenge  in  com- 
pany with  Carlyle.  According  to  his  account,  which 
is,  doubtless,  as  favorable  as  possible,  Carlyle  must 
be  a  conceited,  dogmatical,  pugnacious,  ill-bred  man, 
sceptical  in  great  matters,  opinionated  and  positive 
in  little  ones.     It  was  characteristic  of  these  two  un- 


350  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  40. 

believing  philosophers  that  on  Sunday,  which  they 
spent  at  Winchester,  they  passed  the  morning  in 
talking  at  a  friend's  house,  and  the  evening  in  loung- 
ing round  the  cathedral,  while  service  was  going  on 
inside. 

March.  Mr.  Choate  delivered  a  lecture  in  Boston 
nominally  on  the  old  age  of  Samuel  Rogers,  but 
really  on  the  periods  in  which  he  lived.  It  was  an 
address  of  great  power  and  beauty.  His  allusion  to 
the  stream  of  memories  in  Rogers's  old  age,  full  and 
placid,  flowing  beneath  the  arches  of  his  mind  not  yet 
fallen,  was  quite  beautiful.  He  had  a  grand  tribute 
to  Cowper,  and  a  touching  allusion  to  his  gloom  —  un- 
able to  see  the  angels  that  assuredly  waited  to  receive 
him  on  the  other  side  of  the  dark  river.  He  put 
Byron,  Wordsworth  and  Scott,  at  the  head  of  the 
poets  of  the  period,  and  Coleridge  at  the  head  of  the 
second  class,  with  Campbell,  Shelley  and  others. 
Query  :  If  Coleridge  should  not  go  into  the  first  rank 
for  quality  though  not  for  quantity  ?  He  had  a  very 
gratifying  tribute  to  my  father,  "  the  elder  Dana," 
with  Bryant  and  Longfellow. 

April.  I  have  been  much  interested,  the  last 
two  weeks,  in  the  case  of  Judge  Woodbury  Davis,  of 
Maine,  whom  the  Legislature  of  Maine  are  threaten- 
ing to  remove  by  address  from  the  bench  of  the  Su- 
preme Court.  It  is,  I  believe,  the  first  instance  in  this 
country  of  an  attempt  to  remove  a  judge  solely  on 
grounds  of  party  policy.  Superior  courts  have  been 
abolished  to  get  rid  of  judges,  and  where  this  is  for 
no  good  reason  it  is  a  perversion  of  power ;  but  to  re- 
move a  single  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  by  address, 
on  no  charge  of  incapacity  or  misconduct,  has  never 
before  been  attempted.     This  is  a  bold  attempt  to 


1856.  JUDGE  DAVIS.  351 

reduce  the  judiciary  under  the  control  of  party  and 
caucus.  Judge  Davis  decided  a  constitutional  ques- 
tion necessarily  before  him,  which  he  could  not  avoid 
deciding,  candidly  and  temperately,  but  against  the 
views  and  policy  of  the  party  in  power.  After  a  good 
deal  of  disciplining  and  dragooning,  by  the  operation 
of  caucus,  the  party  is  induced  to  make  his  removal 
a  party  question.  Caucus  votes  it;  and  the  party 
must  follow.  Fortunately,  the  Constitution  requires 
the  "causes"  to  be  specified,  and  notice  and  a  hearing 
for  the  judge.  In  this  case,  the  "causes"  assigned 
were  simply  that  he  refused  to  acknowledge  the  com- 
mission that  the  Governor  gave  to  the  new  sheriff, 
the  constitutional  power  of  the  Governor  to  give  the 
commission  being  the  point  in  issue. 

Judge  Davis's  friends  retained  Choate  to  plead  his 
cause  before  the  Legislature,  and  I  was  retained  to 
make  full  preparation  of  the  law  and  history,  and  to 
take  Choate's  place  in  case  he  was  prevented  by  ill- 
ness or  engagements  from  going.  I  was  obliged  to 
make  the  same  preparation  as  if  I  were  the  only 
counsel,  without  knowing  until  Wednesday  whether 
I  should  be  called  upon  to  go.  Wednesday  night, 
Choate  being  ready,  I  handed  over  to  him  my  brief 
(seventeen  pages),  and  he  went  to  Augusta. 

It  is  a  great  occasion.  I  should  have  felt  great 
pride  in  making  an  attempt,  by  speech  and  reason, 
before  the  legislature  of  a  sovereign  state,  to  stay 
and  turn  back,  at  its  outset,  the  current  which,  un- 
checked, will  prostrate  every  barrier  against  the  om- 
nipotence of  party  majorities.1 

1  The  joint  committee  of  the  Legislature  of  Maine  to  whom  this 
case  was  referred  were  addressed  on  behalf  of  Judge  Davis  by- 
Henry  W.  Paine,  F    O.  J.  Smith  and  Rufus  Choate ;  Edward  Kent, 


352  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  40. 

April  8.  Met  Dr.  Robinson,  governor-elect  of  Kan- 
sas under  the  state  constitution,  at  a  small  gather- 
ing in  the  rooms  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Society.  He 
gave  a  clear,  moderate  and  sensible  account  of  the 
state  of  things  in  Kansas,  and  of  its  histor}'.  He 
strikes  me  like  a  calm,  quiet,  resolute,  clear-headed 
man.  It  was  an  interesting  and  instructive  spectacle, 
to  one  observant  of  the  developments  of  the  Ameri- 
can mind  and  character,  and  the  course  and  results  of 
our  institutions,  to  see  this  plain,  self-made  man,  not 
educated  to  politics  or  law,  in  a  modest,  but  firm  and 
intelligent  manner  lay  down  the  constitutional  prin- 
ciples, and  refer  to  the  historical  precedents  on  which 
their  whole  movement  had  been  predicated  and 
shaped.  Where  else  in  the  world  can  be  found  this 
native  aptness  for  affairs,  this  mingled  respect  for 
law  and  precedent,  and  love  of  order,  with  devotion 
to  liberty  and  freedom  and  personal  rights.  Verily, 
every  true-born  Yankee  is  a  maker  of  constitutions, 
a  founder  of  empires,  a  builder  of  cities,  a  subduer  of 
nature  and  a  regulator  of  men. 

In  the  Presbyterian  Church  case  (Attorney  Gen- 
eral vs.  Federal  Street  Church),  Hillard,  in  drawing 
the  answer,  said  that  our  ancestors  came  here  to  estab- 
lish religious  freedom,  and  that  no  particular  mode 
of  faith  had  ever  been  required  in  Massachusetts.  In 
my  argument  I  referred  to  that  statement,  and  made 

ex-governor  of  the  State,  attended  as  his  counsel.  The  decision  of 
the  committee  was  said  to  have  been  taken  on  party  grounds  solely, 
uninfluenced  by  the  arguments ;  and  on  their  report  the  Legislature, 
by  a  party  vote  in  both  houses,  adopted  the  address,  in  pursuance  of 
which  the  Governor,  Samuel  Wells,  April  11,  1856,  removed  Judge 
Davis  from  the  bench.  The  same  Legislature  afterwards  abolished 
the  office ;  but  their  successors  sitting  in  1857  reestablished  it,  and 
Judge  Davis  was  restored  to  his  former  position. 


1856.  JUDGE   SHAW.  353 

some  sport  by  alluding  to  the  real  history  of  religion 
in  Massachusetts,  and  inquiring  where  the  learned 
counsel  had  obtained  his  information,  etc.  The  judges 
and  bar  smiled,  and  Hillard  explained  and  retracted 
the  entire  statement.  But  I  noticed  that  the  Chief 
Justice  did  not  seem  to  relish  the  occurrence,  and 
muttered  something  which  seemed  to  indicate  that  he 
thought  the  statement  substantially  correct.  When 
the  court  conferred  upon  the  subject  of  the  judgment, 
they  unanimously  agreed  that  we  had  failed  to  estab- 
lish that  the  deed  of  Little,  etc.,  created  a  public 
charity,  and  it  was  conceded  by  us  that  unless  it  was 
a  public  charity  we  could  not  prevail,  and  they  au- 
thorized the  Chief  Justice  to  draw  up  an  opinion  in 
accordance  with  those  views.  He  drew  up  the 
opinion,  and  when  he  came  to  read  it,  to  the  surprise 
of  the  court  as  well  as  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
bar,  it  contained  an  elaborate  historical  argument  to 
show  that  there  had  always  been  religious  freedom  in 
Massachusetts,  and  that  the  word  "  orthodox  "  used 
in  the  statute  was  not  used  in  any  technical  sense, 
but  left  each  church  to  its  own  opinion  of  what  was 
orthodox.  It  is  no  disrespect  to  Judge  Shaw  to  say 
that  a  weaker  argument  never  came  from  a  sensible 
man.  It  was  self-evidently  wrong,  and  there  was  no 
way  of  accounting  for  it,  but  to  admit  that  Judge 
Shaw  had  come  to  such  a  state  of  doting  fondness 
as  to  create  a  bias  that  entirely  perverted  a  sound 
and  honest  mind.  Every  man  at  the  bar,  as  well  as 
on  the  bench,  saw  the  lamentable  weakness  it  ex- 
hibited. 

When  the  case  came  in  its  order  to  be  printed,  the 
judges  came  to  an  agreement  among  themselves  and 
spoke  to  the  Chief  Justice  about  it,  and  told  him  that 


354  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  40. 

they  could  not  agree  to  have  that  stand  as  part  of  the 
opinion.  Judge  Metcalf  said  he  not  only  entirely 
disseuted  from  it,  but  that  he  was  not  willing  to  have 
the  sanction  of  the  Supreme  Court  given  to  one  side 
of  the  controversy  respecting  the  Hollis  professorship. 
Judge  Thomas  and  Judge  Bigelow,  who  are  both 
Unitarians,  also  attacked  the  opinion,  and  demon- 
strated its  fallaciousness.  The  Chief  Justice  made 
fight  for  a  time,  but  was  obliged  to  yield,  and  took 
back  the  opinion  and  revised  it,  leaving  out  all  those 
parts  that  related  to  religious  freedom ;  and  it  is  to 
be  printed  in  that  form  [3  Gray,  1],  .  .  .  The  truth 
is,  Judge  Shaw  is  a  man  of  intense  and  doting  biases 
in  religious,  political  and  social  matters.  Unitarian- 
ism,  Harvard  College,  the  social  and  political  respec- 
tabilities of  Boston  are  his  idola  specus  et  fori. 

[Salem.]  May.  ...  I  have  found  a  resource  in 
riding,  there  being  very  good  saddle-horses  here,  and 
rode  out  every  morning  and  evening  to  Danvers,  Bev- 
erly, Marblehead,  etc.  But  the  ride  of  the  chief  in- 
terest was  on  Thursday  evening,  to  Danvers,  to  the 
grave  of  Eliza  Wharton.  I  gave  my  horse  to  the 
charge  of  a  boy  at  the  gate,  and  following  a  well- 
beaten  foot-path  came  to  her  grave.  It  is  marked 
by  a  large  upright  stone,  brown  sand-stone,  all  the 
upper  part  of  which  has  been  broken  off  by  the  cu- 
riosity of  visitors  to  carry  away  pieces  as  relics.  So 
far  is  it  defaced  by  this  barbarism,  which  yet  has  a 
relish  of  piety  and  sentiment  in  it,  that  the  name  is 
gone,  and  much  of  the  inscription,  but  I  could  read, 
in  the  gathering  twilight,  broken  sentences  testifying 
to  her  beauty,  her  genius  and  her  many  virtues  and 
charms. 

How  aad  and  solemn  is  it  for  a  man  to  stand  by  the 


1856.  ELIZA    WHARTON.  355 

grave  of  a  woman  of  beauty,  genius,  station,  affection, 
betrayed  by  one  of  bis  own  sex  to  shame,  anguish, 
desertion  and  death  ! 

It  is  now  more  than  sixty  years  since  she  died,  yet 
her  story  is  as  fresh  as  yesterday,  and  the  interest  in 
her  grave  and  in  what  tradition  has  preserved  of  her 
few  weeks  of  deserted,  unrecognized,  tearful  life  in 
Danvers  rather  increases  than  diminishes  with  years. 
The  steps  of  visitors  have  made  a  path  to  her  grave, 
the  headstone  is  scarcely  preserved  by  reason  of  the 
demands  of  their  sentimental  interest,  and  even  the 
spot  where  the  "Bell  Tavern  "  stood,  in  which  she 
sojourned  and  died,  now  built  over  with  shops,  can 
be  pointed  out  to  the  stranger  by  any  child  in  the 
village. 

The  episode  of  Eliza  Wharton  like  that  of  Charlotte 
Stanley,  who  was  by  the  mother's  side  a  near  relative  of 
Eliza  Wharton's,  has  always  excited  great  interest  and  great 
sympathy.  Each  was  made  the  subject  of  a  work  of  fiction 
modelled  on  Richardson's  "  Clarissa  Harlowe,"  and  "  Char- 
lotte Temple "  and  "  Eliza  Wharton,  or  the  Coquette " 
though  now  forgotten,  both  in  their  day  passed  through 
many  editions  and  were  widely  read. 

Eliza  Wharton,  or,  to  give  her  real  name,  Elizabeth 
Whitman,  was  born  in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  in  1756,  and 
lived  there  during  almost  the  whole  of  her  life  ;  and  it  was 
probably  due  in  part  to  this  local  association  through  his 
wife's  connection  with  Hartford  and  Wethersfield,  that 
Dana  felt  so  deep  an  interest  in  her  fate.  Her  father  was 
long  connected  with  Yale  College,  while  her  mother,  named 
Stanley,  was  descended  from  a  younger  son  of  one  of  the 
seventeenth  century  Earls  of  Derby.  Noted  for  her  beauty 
and  gentleness  of  character,  Elizabeth  Whitman  was  greatly 
admired  by  the  young  men  of  the  pre-revolutionary  period 
in  Connecticut,  among  whom  were  Aaron  Burr  and  Pierre- 


356  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  ^t.  40. 

pont  Edwards ;  finally  in  1775  she  became  engaged  to  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Howe,  pastor  of  the  New  South  Church  in 
Boston,  who  had  been  driven  from  his  charge  at  the  time 
of  the  siege  of  Boston  and  sought  refuge  in  Connecticut. 
He  seems  to  have  died  in  Hartford  in  1776.  Elizabeth  is 
said  to  have  tended  him  in  his  last  illness ;  "  but,  as  she 
had  loved  him  with  moderation,  she  mourned  for  him  with- 
out despair."  She  next  became  engaged  to  the  Rev.  Jo- 
seph Buckminster,  afterwards  settled  at  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire  ;  but  this  engagement  was  subsequently  broken 
off.  Five  years  later,  in  May,  1788,  being  then  thirty-six, 
she  left  her  home  and  family,  ostensibly  to  visit  a  friend  in 
Boston,  but  stopped  on  the  way  at  Watertown ;  and  thence, 
a  few  days  later,  was  driven  over  to  Dan  vers,  reaching  that 
place  early  in  June  and  going  to  the  Bell  Tavern,  where 
she  gave  her  name  as  Mrs.  Walker.  She  claimed  to  be 
waiting  there  for  her  husband,  and  a  few  weeks  later,  in 
July,  gave  birth  to  a  dead  child,  and  died  herself  a  fort- 
night afterwards.  A  paragraph  in  the  "  Boston  Chronicle  " 
then  first  revealed  her  place  of  refuge  to  friends  and  rela- 
tives. 

She  wore  a  wedding  ring,  and  insisted  that  she  was  mar- 
ried ;  though  if  such  was  the  fact,  the  name  of  her  husband 
and  the  father  of  her  child  has  never  been  disclosed.  She 
herself  was  silent  on  the  subject,  merely  saying,  when 
pressed,  that  her  death  was  the  easiest  solution  of  many 
problems. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE   FIRST   GLIMPSE    OF   EUROPE. 

To  see  England  and  especially  London  had  long  been  a 
dream  of  Dana's  life.  In  the  course  of  his  vacation  ram- 
bles he  had  now  visited  most  of  the  portions  of  his  own 
country  which  were  interesting  and  then  easily  accessible,  — 
Niagara,  the  White  Mountains,  Canada,  the  lakes  and 
coast  of  Maine,  and  the  British  provinces ;  he  had  seen 
California  and  the  Pacific ;  he  had  twice  rounded  the 
Horn ;  but  he  had  never  crossed  the  Atlantic,  or  gone  back 
to  what  was  to  him  far  more  than  it  is  to  most  Americans, 
"  our  old  home."  The  time  for  the  dream  to  be  realized 
came  at  last. 

Dana  went  abroad  in  1856  under  the  happiest  possible 
auspices.  No  longer  a  boy,  he  was  exempt  from  a  boy's 
restless  thirst  for  excitement ;  but  he  had  not  reached  the 
period  when  the  faculty  of  enjoyment  is  impaired.  Not 
yet  forty-one,  his  reading,  thoughts  and  mental  associations 
were  all  connected  with  England  and  things  English  ;  but 
he  had  really  known  only  America.  He  was  accordingly  in 
an  eager  and  thoroughly  receptive  condition.  He  went,  too, 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  for  not  only  did  he 
have  a  reputation  of  his  own  as  the  plucky  young  fellow 
who  had  served  two  years  before  the  mast  and  written  a 
book  which  recalled  Defoe,  but  more  recently  his  defence 
of  Burns  and  his  manly  stand  in  the  Fugitive  Slave  cases 


358  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mi.AO. 

had  aroused  a  new  interest  in  him.  For  it  is  to  be  re- 
membered that  the  English  aristocracy  was,  as  respects 
slavery,  in  a  very  different  frame  of  mind  in  1856  from  that 
in  which  it  found  itself  five  years  after  when  the  war  of  the 
rebellion  broke  out.  In  1861  all  its  sympathies  went  with 
the  South,  and  those  loyal  to  freedom  and  the  Union  were 
made  to  realize  keenly  enough  how  thin,  even  in  the  highest 
circles,  is  the  veneering  of  politeness  which  overlies  genuine 
British  brusqueness.  It  was  otherwise  in  1856  when  Dana 
first  visited  London.  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  "  was  then  in 
the  height  of  its  world-wide  vogue,  and  anti-slavery  cant 
echoed  in  levee  and  drawing-room.  England  thought  itself 
enlisted  heart  and  soul  in  favor  of  the  oppressed  slave,  his 
champion  was  sure  of  a  welcome,  and  Dana  was  the  legal 
champion  of  the  fugitives. 

Moreover,  on  the  22d  of  the  previous  May  Charles  Sum- 
ner had  been  assaulted  and  beaten  down  in  the  senate 
chamber  by  Preston  S.  Brooks.  Sumner  was  at  that  time 
probably  better  known  than  any  other  American  in  the 
highest  circles  of  London  society.  The  interest  in  him  had 
been  revived  and  quickened  by  the  murderous  attack  of  the 
slave-holding  ruffian,  and  there  was  hardly  a  door  in  all 
England  which  would  not  have  flown  open  in  welcome  to 
one  bearing  a  missive  from  the  Massachusetts  Senator. 
Hearing  that  he  was  going  abroad,  Sumner  sent  Dana  let- 
ters of  introduction  to  many  of  his  friends. 

Those  too  were  the  golden  days  of  the  Victorian  era. 
The  Queen,  only  thirty-seven,  was  a  young  woman  still,  the 
Prince  Consort  was  of  the  same  age  as  his  wife,  and  their 
children,  all  children  yet  and  about  them,  had  not  begun  to 
marry.  The  Crimean  war  had  been  brought  to  a  close  but 
three  months  before,  and  the  English  army  was  returning 
home  ;  while  London  swarmed  with  the  heroes  of  Sebastopol 
and  Kars,  social  lions  of  the  day.  Lord  Palmerston  was 
premier,  and  Sir  George  Cornwall  Lewis  was  chancellor  of 
the  exchequer,  from  which  position  Mr.  Gladstone  had  the 


1856.       THE  FIRST  GLIMPSE  OF  EUROPE.        359 

previous  year  withdrawn.  Neither  he  nor  Lord  John  Rus- 
sell were  then  in  office.  On  the  opposite  parliamentary 
benches  sat  Disraeli,  who  four  years  before  had  been  the 
leader  in  the  Commons  of  the  first  Derby  cabinet,  the  head 
of  which,  "  the  Rupert  of  debate,"  now  led  the  Tories  in  the 
Lords.  Across  the  Channel,  the  second  Empire  was  in  the 
full  blaze  of  its  tinsel  glory,  and  the  Emperor  only  three 
years  before  had  seated  the  daughter  of  the  Spanish  Count 
of  Montijo  beside  him  on  the  imperial  throne. 

Sailing  from  Boston  on  the  steamship  America  of  the 
Cunard  line  the  2d  of  July,  Dana  landed  in  Liverpool  on 
the  13th  of  the  month ;  for  that  was  before  the  days  of 
"ocean  greyhounds,"  and  the  average  summer  voyage 
lasted  ten  days,  —  a  great  advantage,  now  lost,  to  the  over- 
worked man  of  business  seeking  rest  and  relaxation  abroad, 
but  finding  it,  pure  and  simple,  only  on  the  ocean.  Return- 
ing, he  left  Liverpool  for  New  York  on  the  23d  of  August, 
having  thus  been  exactly  forty-one  days  on  foreign  soil. 

In  these  days,  when  the  man  who  has  not  been  abroad  is 
the  exception,  almost  every  educated  American  knows  from 
his  own  experience  the  sensations  which  a  first  glimpse  of 
Europe,  and  especially  of  England,  can  hardly  fail  to  give 
rise  to  in  one  of  his  class  ;  and  his  journal  is  apt  to  refer  to 
familiar  scenes  with  which  the  guide-book  usually  deals  to 
better  effect.  To  publish  now  the  detailed  diary  of  a  trip 
to  England,  and  of  a  few  weeks  passed  in  London  as  re- 
cently as  1856,  seems,  therefore,  at  first  almost  absurd,  — 
Stratford,  London,  Westminster  Abbey  and  Stonehenge, 
have  all  been  more  than  sufficiently  described.  But,  while 
this  to  some  extent  is  true,  it  is  true  only  of  writers  and 
seers  of  a  certain  class ;  by  writers  and  seers  like  Wash- 
ington Irving  or  Nathaniel  Hawthorne  or  Richard  H.  Dana 
even  these  familiar  scenes  have  not  been,  nor  will  they  ever 
be,  described  enough.  There  are  innumerable  pictures  in 
existence  now  of  well-known  bits  of  landscape  upon  which 
the  world  sets  no  great  store,  though  still  it  prizes  them 


360  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  40. 

at  their  full  worth ;  but  of  sketches  of  those  same  scenes 
by  the  pencils  of  Claude  or  Turner  or  Corot  it  neither  has, 
nor  is  it  likely  to  have,  more  than  are  desired.  Of  this,  his 
first  trip  to  familiar  England,  Dana,  for  the  benefit  of  his 
family  at  home,  which  included  his  father  and  sister,  wrote 
out  in  his  letters  and  journals  an  elaborate  account.  That 
account  is  to-day  as  fresh  and  bright  and  absorbing  as  it 
was  when  first  written  ;  and  its  interest  is  as  great  now  to 
the  general  reader  as  it  was  then  to  the  little  circle  of 
friends  for  whom  it  was  intended.  It  reveals  also  the  man 
as  he  was  in  the  young  maturity  of  his  powers,  —  eager, 
observant,  loyal,  enthusiastic  and  humorous. 

The  companions  of  his  voyage  were  the  well-known 
Thomas  Gold  Appleton,  already  referred  to  as  "  Tom  Ap- 
pleton,  the  prince  of  rattlers,"  and  "William  W.  Story,  the 
latter  of  whom,  a  man  of  thirty-seven,  known  only  as  yet 
by  his  law  treatises  and  the  life  of  his  father,  was  going 
abroad  with  his  family  to  devote  himself  to  art.  For  the 
rest,  the  America  on  that  outward  trip  held  the  usual  heter- 
ogeneous collection  of  passengers  then  as  now  crossing  the 
Atlantic  by  every  steamer,  who,  very  strange  and  formal 
when  the  voyage  begins, '  become  quite  intimate  before  it 
ends  and  they  separate,  usually  not  to  meet  again.  Never- 
theless, there  must  have  been  something  rather  exceptional 
about  this  particular  trip,  for  Mr.  Appleton,  already  a  vet- 
eran in  Atlantic  voyages,  in  writing  home  spoke  of  it  as 
"  certainly  one  of  the  pleasantest  passages  I  have  made," 
and  described  at  length  how  he,  Story,  Dana  and  Miss 
Biddies,  the  pretty  actress,  found  the  paddle-box  a  nice 
place  to  sit  in  the  morning,  where  they  told  stories,  recited 
poems  and  talked  of  writing  a  book,  to  be  called  "  Spray 
from  the  Paddlebox."  Nor  did  Mr.  Appleton  ever  forget 
the  Mormon  elder  on  his  proselyting  tour,  presently  to  be 
described  by  Dana  in  his  narrative.  To  his  last  days  the 
Boston  wit  and  story-teller  delighted  to  imitate  the  nasal 
twang  with  which  Elder  Pratt,  relating  the  interview  be- 


1336.  AT  SEA.  361 

tween  Joseph  Smith  and  the  higher  powers  concerning  the 
authenticity  of  the  Mormon  tablets,  concluded  by  saying, 
"  which  being  shown  to  the  angel,  he  pronounced  to  be  ab- 
Bolewtly  caorrect."  Unlike  Apple  ton  in  that  respect,  this 
voyage  was  Dana's  first  experience  of  the  kind,  and  so  every- 
thing struck  him  as  strange  and  new,  and  he  set  it  all  down  ; 
and  it  is  the  strongest  possible  proof  of  the  literary  and  de- 
scriptive jDowers  of  the  man  that  the  familiar  sights  and 
scenes  he  then  portrayed  retain  their  life  and  freshness  yet. 

July  2.  .  .  .  We  started  punctually  at  twelve  M., 
with  a  most  beautiful  day  overhead  and  around  us. 
Our  two  guns  rang  and  echoed  through  the  harbor 
and  city,  our  streamers  flowed  gayly,  and  we  went 
down  the  harbor  in  beautiful  style  —  actually  bound 
to  Europe,  —  the  Europe  of  my  dreams,  that  I  hardly 
dared  believe  I  should  ever  see.  But  now  that  the 
time  has  come,  I  am  so  intensely  interested  in  my 
own  country,  in  the  impending  struggle  between  the 
free  classes  and  the  slave-power  that  I  cannot  con- 
jure up  a  thought  of  England.  Her  history,  her 
cathedrals,  her  castles,  her  nooks  and  corners,  all  lose 
their  significance,  and  have  no  hold  on  my  feelings  or 
fancy.  .  .  . 

Spent  all  the  evening  on  deck. 

Nothing  can  exceed  the  beauty  and  cheerfulness  of 
our  going  off.  A  clear  sky,  fresh,  pure  air,  quiet 
sea,  bright  sun,  bright  blue  waves,  just  broken  by  a 
steady  breeze,  all  carrying  health,  joy,  vigor,  to  every 
vein  and  nerve  !  What  is  like  the  sea  for  healthful- 
ness,  vigor  and  joy  !  And  to  me,  beyond  all  this, 
the  infinite  delight  of  freedom  from  all  labor,  the  cer- 
tainty of  nothing  to  do,  the  certainty  that  there  is 
nothing  I  can  do.  No  matter  how  many  strings  you 
have   left   flying,  no  matter  what  occur  to  you   as 


362  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  40. 

things  you  might  do  or  ought  to  do,  you  banish  and 
forget  them  all  in  the  knowledge  that  miles  of  blue 
water  —  a  mare  dlasociabde —  makes  them  impos- 
sible.    To  me,  this  is  an  unspeakable  delight. 

All  sails  are  set,  including  a  topmast  studding 
sail,  and  we  go  beautifully  on. 

10.30  P.  M.  Orders  come  aft  to  burn  a  blue  light. 
It  is  burned  from  the  stern,  and  soon  we  throw  a 
rocket  into  the  blackness  of  the  upper  sky.  How  it 
tears  up  into  the  darkness,  with  its  brevis  furor,  its 
short-lived  madness  !  Another  interval  of  ten  min- 
utes or  so,  and  another  rocket.  Then,  far  ahead,  we 
see  a  light,  and  a  rocket  breaks  in  the  sky  and  drops 
its  golden  fires.  This  is  the  return  boat,  the  Canada, 
bound  in  to  Boston.  She  passes  us,  several  miles  to 
leeward,  too  far  to  see  her  regular  lights,  but  the 
blue  lights  and  rockets  are  exchanged  as  complimen- 
tary signals. 

A  little  before  midnight  I  leave  the  deck  reluc- 
tantly for  my  state-room.  .  .  . 

July  5.  Saturday.  Heavy  fog,  heavy  rolling  sea, 
dullest  of  weather  all  day,  steam  whistle  and  horns 
blowing  all  the  time,  decks  wet.  men  in  thick  over- 
coats and  caps,  windows  down,  all  the  women  but  the 
Hungarian  matron  sea-sick,  and  about  half  the  men. 
The  wind  is  astern,  and  the  ship  rolls  heavily.  I  ac- 
knowledge to  the  mortification  of  feeling  a  little 
squeamish  myself.  I  have  taken  my  meals,  and  kept 
walking  deck  all  day,  but  do  not  feel  comfortably, 
and  eat  sparingly.  .  .  . 

We  begin  to  learn  something  about  the  passengers. 
There  is  a  caplain  in  the  Royal  Navy,  a  small,  matter- 
of-fact,  commonplace  looking  man,  conscientious  and 
faithful,  who  keeps  on  deck  all  the  time.     He  has 


1856.  FELLOW  PASSENGERS.  363 

just  left  the  command  of  the  Arab,  a  brig  of  war,  at 
Halifax.  Then  there  is  a  tall,  raw-boned,  canny  old 
Scotchman,  with  a  red  nose,  dressed  in  a  black  dress 
coat,  over  that  a  thin  linen  sack,  half  too  small  for 
him,  and  over  that  a  plaid  shawl.  I  have  named  him 
Sawney  McBean.  He  is  the  peripatetic  animal,  now 
walking  deck,  now  in  the  cabin,  now  in  the  fiddley, 
and  always  to  be  met  stumbling  up  or  down  stairs. 
If  you  run  against  any  one,  it  is  sure  to  be  he.  He 
looks  good-natured  all  the  time,  and  the  great  red- 
ness of  his  nose,  and  the  glassy  look  of  his  eye,  gives 
you  a  suspicion  of  strong  horns.  .  .  . 

Then  we  have  a  Crimean  hero,  an  officer  of  the 
— ,  a  young  man  of  good  appearance,  who,  Napier 
tells  me,  has  been  in  most  of  the  battles.  His 
regiment  has  just  arrived  in  Halifax,  and  he  is  going 
home.  He  is  a  slender,  well-made,  plucky  looking 
fellow,  and  has  a  soldierly  walk  on  deck.  .  .  . 

6.  Sunday.  At  ten  o'clock  all  hands  called,  and 
passengers  invited  to  morning  service.  The  cabin 
is  well  rilled,  and  between  sixty  and  seventy  per- 
sons, including  officers  and  crew,  attend  service.  It 
is  read  by  a  clergyman,  in  a  white  cravat,  a  quiet, 
modest  man,  who  reads  intelligibly  and  seriously, 
and  the  responses  are  remarkably  well  given,  quite 
as  well  as  in  many  churches.  All  seem  interested,  or 
at  least  respectfully  attentive.  This  governmental 
respect  for  the  institutions  of  religion  is  not  only  a 
tower  of  strength  to  the  government  itself,  linking 
it  in  with  the  strongest  sentiments  of  our  nature, 
but  has  a  wholesome  effect  upon  persons,  and  tends 
to  create  respect  for  religion  itself,  as  I  believe.  I 
joined  in  the  prayer  for  the  Queen,  for  I  am  under 
her  flag  and  protection.     She  is  bound  to  protect  my 


364  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  40. 

life  and  property  with  all  the  power  of  her  realm, 
and  I  owe  her,  while  I  choose  to  remain  under  her 
rule,  a  qualified  allegiance,  all  that  is  consistent  with 
my  allegiance  to  my  own  country.  .  .  . 

Long  talks  with  Appleton.  He  is  in  a  strange 
state  about  mesmerism  and  spiritual  mediums.  He 
believes  in  the  phenomena  of  spiritual  mediums,  and 
told  me  many  stories  of  communications  from  the 
spirit  land,  and  of  table  -  moving,  music,  etc.  He 
says  it  confirms  his  belief  in  Christianity,  and  he 
holds  to  what  are  called  miracles,  and  to  the  good 
and  evil  spirits  of  the  Old  Testament.  He  talks  of 
the  Deity  a  great  deal,  but  I  doubt  if  he  holds  to 
Christianity.  It  is  a  belief  in  a  superintending,  per- 
sonal deity,  but  it  does  not  include  the  Incarnation, 
or  the  Trinity.  It  is,  however,  an  interesting  devel- 
opment. .  .  . 

July  7.  Monday.  Rose  early,  and  was  rewarded 
by  the  sight  of  an  iceberg.  After  a  few  minutes  on 
deck,  "  Starboard  —  hard  a-starboard  !  "  was  shouted 
from  forward.  "  Hard  a-starboard  ! "  was  echoed 
from  aft.  "  Starboard,  every  spoke !  "  cried  the  cap- 
tain. "  Every  spoke  it  is,  sir,"  said  the  mate. 
"  Stop  her !  Stop  her !  "  By  this  time  several  pas- 
sengers rushed  on  deck,  and  a  large  iceberg  lay  loom- 
ing in  the  fog,  a  few  yards  to  windward,  with  the 
small  satellites  drifting  by  its  side.  All  we  could  see 
in  the  thick  fog  was  the  dull,  dark  mass,  a  few  shades 
darker  than  the  fog,  high  and  long,  with  a  broken, 
wild  outline.  It  was  soon  lost  in  the  fog  to  leeward. 
We  were  sailing  directly  upon  it,  and  only  the  bright 
lookout  saved  us  from  running  upon  it.  .  .  . 

At  night,  thick  fog  again,  boat  at  half  speed,  watch 
set,   captain    faithful   at  his  post,   the   shrill  steam 


185C.  A  DEATH  AT  SEA.  365 

whistle,  the  fish-horns  from  the  bows,  the  prolonged 
li  all'  s  well,"  at  the  sound  of  every  bell,  give  the  ro- 
mantic interest  of  peril,  exposure  and  watch,  to  our 
life.  I  remained  on  deck  until  about  midnight,  and 
turned  in  with  my  clothes  on.  I  do  not  like  to  be 
caught  unprepared  in  case  of  an  alarm.  At  day- 
light I  undressed  and  slept  until  seven  bells.  .  .  . 

8.  Tuesday.  Just  after  breakfast,  while  we  were 
sitting  over  the  table,  the  actress  came  up,  evidently 
disturbed,  and  said  that  the  delirium  tremens  man 
had  just  died.  He  died  in  a  sudden,  violent  convul- 
sion. There  is  something  dreadful  in  the  thought 
of  a  poor  fellow,  the  victim  of  vice,  dying  in  this  ter- 
rible way,  disgraced  and  suffering,  away  from  all 
friends,  in  the  midst  of  the  wide  ocean,  his  poor 
body  to  be  thrown  into  the  deep,  and  his  spirit  to  go 
to  the  Maker  of  all !  It  goes  to  the  hearts  of  many, 
and  the  effect  upon  the  crew,  and  the  whole  body  of 
the  waiters  and  servants,  is  perceptible.  The  tone 
of  the  passengers  gives  one  little  satisfaction,  at  least 
those  I  hear  from.  Story  is  a  confirmed  latitudina- 
rian  and  epicurean.  He  does  not  make  sport  of 
death,  but  cold  indifferentism  and  superficial  philos- 
ophy rule  him.  .  .  .  Appleton  has  a  whimsical  mix- 
ture of  levity,  indifferentism,  selfishness  and  good 
thought.     But  I  detest  the  whole  of  it.  .  .  . 

My  nature  requires  (though  I  am  as  far  as  possible 
from  living  up  to  it)  —  my  nature  requires  a  super- 
natural faith,  observances  and  rites. 

The  Crimean  hero  is  Major  G ,  of  the  — ,  one 

of  the  few  survivors  of  the  Redan.  He  is  quite 
young,  and  it  is  said  the  general  offered  him  any  re- 
ward he  would  choose,  and  he  chose  a  commission 
for  his  younger  brother. 


366                   RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.            ^t.  40. 
My  Sawney  McBean  turns  out  to  be  Mr.  P , 


the  celebrated  Quaker,  one  of  the  three  Quakers  that 
made  the  visit  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia  to  counsel 
him  against  war.  .  .  .  My  merchant  shipmaster, 
with  whom  I  confer,  and  walk  deck,  is  from  Bangor, 
Maine,  has  been  several  times  round  Cape  Horn,  as 
he  tells  me,  to  the  Chincha  Islands,  Australia,  Cali- 
fornia, etc.  He  gives  a  dreadful  account  of  the  coo- 
lies at  the  guano  islands.  When  he  was  there,  lie 
one  morning  found  three  of  them  hanging  at  the 
door  of  the  English  commissioner,  where  they  had 
destroyed  themselves  from  despair.  Many  threw 
themselves  from  the  rocks  into  the  sea.  He  came  to 
me  yesterday  and  said,  M  Is  that  man  at  your  table, 
with  the  beard,  Judge  Story's  son  ?  "  I  told  him  he 
was.  He  said,  "I  was  never  more  taken  aback  in 
my  life.  I  thought  he  was  some  outlandish  man." 
I  explained  to  him  that  Story  spoke  all  languages, 
lived  abroad.  Patent-Machine  has  also  found  out 
that  he  is  Judge  Story's  son,  and  expresses  his  re- 
gret that  a  young  man  should  leave  his  country  and 
turn  himself  into  a  foreigner.  He  had  been  before 
Judge  Story  in  a  patent  case,  which  he  detailed  to 
me. 

The  best  mistake,  too  good  to  be   allowed   to  get 

out,  was  made  by  Captain  O ,  Major  G and 

the  others,  at  the  opposite  table.     O asked  me 

about  Miss  Biddies  and  said,  "That  gentleman  who 
waits  upon  her  (Appleton),  he  belongs  to  the  same 
theatre,  does  n't  he  ?  "  "  Oh,  no,"  I  said  ;  "  he  is  a 
gentleman  of  property."  "  We  made  up  our  minds," 
said  he,  "that  he  was  an  actor  that  did  the  heavy 
papa  in  the  comedies." 

The  fog  continued  all  day,  but  not  so  thick  as  it 


1856.  A   BURIAL   AT  SEA.  3G7 

was,  though  we  are  still  hemmed  in  to  a  narrow 
sphere  of  about  one  quarter-mile  circuit,  the  fog  bank 
hanging  round  us  on  all  sides,  ready  to  close  us  in,  as 
if  it  were  only  frightened  off  to  that  distance  by  the 
noise  and  sight  of  the  steam  and  the  great  body  the 
steam  drags  along.  Full  steam  is  ou,  all  sail  is  set, 
including  a  topmast  studding-sail,  and  we  go  booming 
through  the  water  at  the  rate  of  eleven  and  a  half  and 
twelve  knots.  "  The  wild  and  wasteful  ocean  "  swells 
and  surges  about  us,  and  its  dull  gray  hue  is  only 
broken  by  the  white  yeast  of  the  waves  as  their  tops 
jostle  together  in  the  confusion  of  our  wake.  It  is  a 
glorious  sight,  a  proud  and  inspiring  sensation,  to 
stand  on  the  high  quarter-deck,  the  lofty  sails  spread 
before  you,  the  great  hull  throbbing  with  the  invisible 
power  that  is  driving  you  along,  nothing  but  a  wild 
waste  of  waters  about  you,  through  which  you  are 
tearing,  rolling  and  plunging,  with  an  aim  and  course 
as  sure  as  the  needle  to  the  pole.  But  how  unspeak- 
ably drear}%  how  gloomy  is  the  sea  behind  you,  in 
this  dull,  sullen  weather!  Well  suited  is  it  to  the 
scene  we  are  all  awaiting  —  the  burial  of  our  poor 
passenger. 

At  eight  P.  M.  the  carpenter  removes  the  gangway 
railing  and  bulwarks,  leaving  a  small  space  in  the 
side  open  down  to  a  level  with  the  deck.  The  boat- 
swain pipes  all  hands  to  bury  the  dead.  It  is  still 
light  in  this  high  latitude,  though  the  day  is  far 
spent,  and  nightfall  is  beginning  to  settle  on  the  sea. 
Six  men  bring  to  the  gangway  a  plank,  on  which  is 
some  large  object  covered  with  the  British  flag,  and 
place  it  at  the  open  gangway.  As  they  partially 
withdraw  the  flag  we  see  the  canvas  sewed  round 
the  body.     The  body  is  placed  with  its  feet  over  the 


DIVERSITY 


3G8  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mr.  40. 

plank  and  its  head  on  board.  The  passengers  and 
crew  gather  in  solemn  and  respectful  silence  about  it, 
filling  the  passage-ways  and  the  steps  and  hanging 
over  the  rail  of  the  upper  deck.  The  clergyman, 
book  iu  hand,  advances  to  the  head  of  the  body.  All 
stand  uncovered  while  the  words,  u  I  am  the  resurrec- 
tion and  the  life,  saith  the  Lord,"  break  upon  the 
silence.  The  young  surgeon  stands  by  the  side  and 
reads  the  responses  and  the  alternate  verses.  At  the 
words,  "  We  therefore  commit  his  body  to  the  deep," 
the  seamen  raise  the  inner  end  of  the  plank,  the  flag 
is  lifted,  and  the  heavy  weight  plunges  into  the  sea 
with  a  heavy  leaden  plunge  that  is  heard  fore  and 
aft,  and  is  swept  astern,  and  swallowed  up  in  the 
waste  of  waters,  gloomy,  roaring,  tumbling,  cold, 
fathomless ! 

Then  come  the  consoling  words  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  joined  in  aloud  by  many  deep  voices,  among 
which  I  noticed  several  of  the  crew,  the  benediction, 
—  all  cover  their  heads,  the  crowd  disperses  over  the 
ship,  the  gangway  is  replaced,  and  the  monotonous 
voyage  goes  on.  The  hundred  or  two  human  beings 
who  are  not  yet  called  away,  with  their  little  respite 
of  weeks,  or  years  at  most,  before  them,  go  back  to 
their  works,  their  talk,  their  plans,  some  wisely  so- 
bered, some  disturbed  for  a  moment,  to  recover  their 
gayety,  or  their  indifference,  with  little  or  no  gain, 
and  some  to  relapse  at  once,  without  a  thought,  into 
the  frivolous  or  selfishly  laborious  tenor  of  their  ways. 

In  no  mood  to  join  my  party  in  the  cabin,  I  walk 
the  upper  deck  until  nearly  midnight.  What  place 
or  scene  can  be  better  suited  to  reflection  !  Except 
the  officer  pacing  to  and  fro  at  the  binnacle,  I  have 
the    upper   deck  to  myself.     The  huge   sails  tower 


1856.  STEAMER   GAMES.  369 

mysteriously  into  the  dark  air  —  the  ocean,  dull, 
gloomy,  broken  into  little  sheets  of  white  foam,  which 
hurry  by  us  with  the  speed  of  frightened  horses,  a 
great  dim  swell  of  broken  seas  behind  us,  the  whistle 
of  alarm,  the  everlasting,  unceasing  throb  and  hurry- 
ing onward  of  the  great  bulk  with  its  freight  of  human 
beings,  the  spirit  of  death  that  has  cast  his  shadow 
over  us,  and  the  thought  of  the  poor  lifeless  body,  but 
twelve  hours  ago  in  life,  floating  leagues  astern, 
fathoms  down  in  the  sea,  —  if  a  man  cannot  think 
and  feel  now,  when  can  he  ?  Still,  in  the  saloon  be- 
low the  parties  are  at  their  suppers,  their  wines, 
cards  and  cigars,  as  ever,  and  the  talk  of  the  loungers 
in  the  fiddley  goes  on  as  usual.  .  .  . 

9.  Wednesday,  There  is  some  discussion  among 
the  nautical  men  whether  the  ship  ought  not  to  have 
been  brought  to  during  the  burial.  The  custom 
always  has  been  to  back  the  main  yard  in  sailing 
vessels.  We  thought  the  engine  would  have  been 
stopped,  and  the  sails  backed.  But  the  ship  went  on 
at  her  full  speed.  There  seems  to  be  a  deference  to 
the  ceremony  and  the  event  that  the  ship  itself  can 
show  by  stopping  in  her  course.  It  could  have  been 
done,  and  unless  there  is  a  settled  usage  to  the  con- 
trary should  have  been  done.  .  .  . 

11.  Friday.  This  is  our  first  fine  day  since  leav- 
ing Halifax.  The  sun  is  out  bright,  the  sea  is  smooth 
and  blue,  and  the  air  soft  and  agreeable.  After  lunch, 
loud  shouts  of  laughter  from  the  upper  deck  drew 
us  all  there.  The  British  officers  and  other  gentle- 
men, all  English,  are  engaged  in  games  and  exercises 
of  strength,  agility  and  sleight,  of  the  most  amusing 
character;  some  are  laughable  beyond  measure.  It 
is  refreshing  to  see  these  young  men,  lieutenants  in 


370  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  40. 

the  Guards,  Crimean  heroes,  who  had  fought  at  In- 
kerman  and  Balaklava,  a  post  captain  in  the  navy, 
and  two  young  gentlemen  of  family  and  fortune, 
travelling  for  pleasure,  with  their  coats  off,  rolling, 
tumbling  and  jumping  about  decks,  playing  leap- 
frog, tying  up  hands  or  feet,  and  walking  or  jump- 
ing with  their  other  limbs,  -r-  before  a  crowd  of  spec- 
tators of  all  classes  and  descriptions,  who  applaud 
and  shout  and  laugh  in  the  most  boisterous  man- 
ner. One  game  is  a  cock  -  fight.  Two  men  sit  on 
the  deck,  each  with  his  hands  tied  together,  his 
knees  bent  up,  and  his  hands  drawn  over  them,  and 
a  stick  placed  through  his  arms,  and  under  his  knees, 
so  as  to  skewer  or  truss  him,  like  a  fowl  in  a  dish. 
They  are  placed  opposite  each  other,  and  having 
only  the  use  of  their  feet,  and  that  very  much  con- 
fined, the  fun  is  in  their  efforts  to  tip  one  another 
over  on  the  side.  Each  cock  has  his  backer,  who 
tends  him,  pats  him  on  the  back  and  head,  and  lifts 
him  when   he  is  down.     These  games  made  great 

sport.     Major    G and    Mr.    R ,  Lieutenant 

A and  Mr.  T ,  etc.,  etc.,  made  pairs,  to  the 

huge  delight,  especially,  of  the  children.  The  per- 
formances closed  with  races  on  all  fours,  the  run- 
ners to  jump  three  poles,  placed  at  intervals  across 
the  deck,  still  keeping  on  all  fours.     The  first  race 

was  between  Major  G and  Mr.  R ,  neck  and 

neck,  but   won  by  G .     The  next  was  between 

Captain  O and  a  gentleman  whose  name  I  do 

not   know,   easily   won   by  the  latter,   as   O is 

fifty,  and  a  little  stiff.  It  was  absurd  to  see  him,  in 
his  gold  laced  cap  and  naval  buttons,  hurrying  and 
leaping  along  on  all  fours.  He  made  good  sport  of 
his  defeat.     The  last  was  between  the  two  winners, 


1856.  CRIMEAN    VETERANS.  371 

and   quite   spirited,  —  won    by   Major    G ,   who 

made  a  brilliant  leap  over  the  last  pole.  Mrs.  Story- 
was  the  winning  post,  and  when  the  judges  awarded 

the  race  to  G ,  Lieutenant  A ,  who  acted  as 

owner  of  the  winning  horse,  led  him  up  on  all  fours, 
amid  cries  of  "  winning  horse  to  the  post,"  and  Mrs. 
Story  placed  two  pennies  on  his  neck,  and  he  can- 
tered  off.      Lieutenant   A then   sent   his   dog 

round  with  a  cap  in  his  mouth,  to  pick  up  pennies 
from  the  crowd,  made  a  mock  speech  of  thanks,  and 
the  gentlemen  ended  by  tossing  up  for  the  pennies. 

The  grave  N took  the  part  of  a  property  man, 

and  Supe,  and  gathered  up  the  stools  and  boards. 

Where  else  but  in  England,  with  all  that  is  said  of 
their  stiffness  and  pride,  could  you  find  men  of  that 
class  and  rank  making  such  free  natural  boys  of 
themselves,  with  utter  absence  of  all  false  pride,  be- 
fore strangers,  a  mixed  crowd,  many  being  their  in- 
feriors. .  .  . 

12.    Saturday.  .  .  .  While  I    am   writing,  Major 

G comes  to  write  at  the  same  table,  and  we  get 

into  talk  about  Sebastopol.  He  was  one  of  the  few 
that  came  alive  out  of  the  Redan.  He  gives  me  a 
full  account  of  it,  with  a  rough  pen-and-ink  drawing. 
He  says  it  was  shamefully  mismanaged.  Only  1,500 
men  were  sent  to  the  assaulting  party,  with  a  rein- 
forcement of  2,000.  The  reinforcement  came  on 
without  order  or  direction,  in  small  squads,  and  was 
useless.  Under  the  dreadful  fire  it  could  not  be 
formed,  and  was  only  butchered.  The  stormers  car- 
ried the  Redan,  and  held  it,  with  momentarily  dimin- 
ishing numbers,  for  two  hours,  under  deadly  fire  and 
the  bayonet,  until  they  were  driven,  pell-melt,  over 
the  wall,  and  fell  into  the  ditch  below,  and  on  the 


372  RICHARD   HENRY  DANA.  jEt.  40. 

bodies  of  their  own  dead  and  wounded,  and  some 
upon  the  bayonets  of  their  own  men.  He  attributes 
the  miscarriage  to  the  incapacity  of  Simpson,  who, 
he  says,  is  an  old  fool.  Simpson  was  two  miles  off, 
and  had  made  no  plan  at  all  adequate  to  the  occa- 
sion. There  should  have  been  12,000  men  in  the 
attack  and  reserve,  all  moving  on.  He  says  every 
military  man  will  say  that  the  force  sent  could  not 
have  held  the  Redan  if  it  had  been  taken.  He  says 
that  General  Windham  behaved  like  a  lion,  and  de- 
serves all  the  credit  he  has  received.     G is  a 

young,  slender,  active  man,  with  a  mild,  open,  clear 
blue  eye,  that  looks  at  once  gentle  and  incapable  of 
fear. 

Little  Story  is  brought  to  the  dessert  every  day, 
and  as  soon  as  he  gets  into  the  saloon,  he  sets  up  a 
shout  of  delight,  at  which  Tom  Apple  ton  called  him, 
"  Vox  clamantis  in  deserto"  .  .  . 

After  tea  Story,  Appleton  and  I  went  into  the 
second  cabin  to  hear  a  Mormon  lecture.  We  have 
just  discovered  that  there  are  three  Mormons  on 
board,  who  are  on  a  proselyting  or  recruiting  tour  to 
Europe,  —  one  a  brother  of  Brigham  Young,  and 
another,  the  famous  Elder  Pratt.  They  have  given 
lectures  on  Mormonism  every  evening  since  the  good 
weather  returned.  The  cabin  was  full  of  second- 
class  passengers,  with  a  few  first-class.  Pratt  gave 
the  lecture.  He  is  a  cool,  cunning  fellow.  Several 
of  his  statements  were  intentionally  misleading.  His 
account  of  the  finding  of  Joe  Smith's  revelation  was 
a  melancholy  attempt  at  imposition  —  the  angel  ap- 
pearing to  Mr.  Smith  in  the  town  of  Manchester, 
county  of  Lafayette,  State  of  New  York,  the  metal 
plates  inscribed  in   the  reformed  Egyptian   tongue, 


1356.  A   MORMON  LECTURE.  373 

translated  by  Joe  into  Yankee  slang  English  by  aid 
of  the  Urim  and  Thummim  which  he  found  with  the 
plates,  and  which  the  angel  pronounced  to  be  correct, 
and  then  the  carrying  off  of  the  plates  by  the  angel,  and 
the  ingenious  contrivance  of  a  box  of  plates,  contain- 
ing a  future  revelation,  to  be  made  known  whenever 
the  angel  shall  require  it,  the  hiding-place  of  which 
is  known  to  only  six  or  seven  of  the  Mormon  church. 
He  gave  the  impression  that  a  man  could  not  take 
a  second  wife  without  consent  of  the  first,  —  but 
Story  and  I  put  a  few  questions  to  him  that  floored 
him  on  that,  and  I  think  we  damaged  his  influence 
with  the  audience. 

Coming  out  from  the  close  cabin  with  this  profane 
stuff,  we  find  ourselves  in  the  beautiful  twilight  of 
this  northern  sky,  and  the  Tory  Island  Light,  my 
first  sight  of  Europe,  gleaming  on  our  starboard  bow. 
There  is  something  unusual  in  having  one's  first 
sight  of  a  new  world,  not  land,  but  a  bright  light, 
set  as  if  a  signal  of  welcome,  with  no  sign  of  land  or 
habitation  about  it. 

Again  we  remain  on  deck,  nearly  all  night,  in  this 
bewitching  twilight.  After  one  o'clock  we  go  below. 
A  passenger  who  sat  up  later  tells  me  that  the  dawn 
began  soon  after  one  o'clock  and  that  at  half  past  one 
he  could  see  to  read  coarse  print.  Indeed,  there  is 
no  night  here. 

July  13.  Sunday. .  On  deck  at  half  past  seven,  and 
there  lay  the  north  coast  of  Ireland,  broad  on  our 
starboard  side,  stretching  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach, 
and  on  our  left  hand  the  distant  line  of  the  west 
coast  of  Scotland,  while  we  are  steering  a  southerly 
course,  down  the  Irish  Sea,  keeping  close  to  the  coast 
of  Ireland.    Out  of  the  low  clouds  on  the  left,  off  the 


o74  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  JEt.  40. 

coast  of  Scotland,  towers  and  looms  the  Ailsa  Craig, 
a  conical  hill,  alone  in  the  sea,  like  an  outpost  of  the 
Scottish  mountains.  About  it  is  Hying,  here  and 
there,  a  lugger,  or  a  pilot  or  fishing  boat.  We  are 
close  upon  the  Irish  coast,  and  can  distinctly  see 
houses  and  churches  and  cultivated  fields.  We  pass 
the  entrance  to  Belfast,  and  see  the  sailing  vessels 
and  a  large  steamer  going  in.  Thanks  for  this  beau- 
tiful, sunny  day,  this  delightful  first  view  of  a  new 
world  ! 

At  ten  o'clock  is  the  service  again,  respectably  at- 
tended, although  the  great  attractions  of  the  coast 
keep  many  on  deck ;  the  crew  are  present  in  white 
trousers  and  blue  frocks,  again  is  the  prayer  for  the 
Queen  and  the  royal  government,  and  for  our  safe 
arrival  "  at  the  haven  where  we  would  be." 

Coming  on  deck  we  find  the  Isle  of  Man  on  our 
left,  the  tops  of  its  highest  hills  hidden  by  the  clouds. 
Appleton  has  already  pointed  out  to  me  the  difference 
between  the  European  and  American  sky,  the  milder 
tints  of  the  European  blue.  There  is  no  European 
sky,  he  says,  that  is  not  possible  to  the  painter;  but 
the  American  colors  are  too  sharp  and  clear. 

At  the  close  of  as  beautiful  a  Sunday  afternoon  as 
ever  shone  we  entered  the  Mersey.  On  the  right  is 
the  picturesque  bold  outline  of  Anglesea,  gradually 
subsiding  into  the  levelled  stretches  of  Cheshire,  and 
on  the  left  the  low  coast  of  Lancashire.  Vessels 
of  all  nations  coming  and  going,  steamers  to  and 
from  Ireland  and  Scotland  and  the  lower  ports,  and 
steam-tugs  toiling  along  with  the  great  ships  behind 
them,  and  the  distant  spires  of  Liverpool  and  Birken- 
head, enliven  the  scene.  But  that  which  arrests  the 
eye  of  the  American  on  his  first  visit  with  as  much 


1856.  LIVERPOOL.  375 

of  wonder  as  delight,  is  the  deep,  deep,  dark  green- 
ness of  the  banks,  hillsides,  lawns  and  foliage.  It  is 
so  deep  that  if  you  were  first  to  see  it  in  a  picture, 
you  would  condemn  the  artist  as  false  to  any  possible 
nature.  The  next  most  striking  impression  is  the 
absence  of  all  painted  buildings,  those  spots  of  many 
colored  houses  and  blinds,  sprinkled  over  New  Eng- 
land scenery,  and  instead  of  it,  the  stone  or  brick 
of  all  buildings,  in  country  as  in  city,  of  various  col- 
ors, but  all  giving  the  sense  of  stability  and  repose, 
and  making  a  mild  contrast  with  the  deep  green  of 
grass  and  trees. 

Liverpool,  with  its  great  dock,  walled  in,  and  its 
towering  warehouses,  looks  like  Sebastopol.  How 
strong,  how  high,  how  spacious  is  everything!  As 
we  go  up  the  river,  we  notice  with  pride  that  nearly 
half  the  ships  have  the  Yankee  flag,  and  those  gener- 
ally the  smartest  looking  vessels.  We  fire  our  guns, 
and  come  to  anchor.  The  tender  boards  us,  with  the 
officers  of  the  customs.  To  my  surprise,  they  are 
civil  and  rapid  in  their  proceedings,  but  much  time 
is  consumed  necessarily.  A  glorious  sunset,  of 
brightly  tinted  clouds,  gilds  the  whole  sky,  and  while 
it  is  broad  daylight  the  Liverpool  clocks  show 
clearly  nine  o'clock. 

Reached  the  Queen's  Hotel  at  ten  o'clock  p.  M., 
and  I  am  on  British  soil  in  a  British  inn.  The 
neat  housemaid,  in  her  neat  cap,  with  her  quiet, 
civil  manner,  shows  me  to  my  bed-chamber,  where 
all  is  still,  clean,  heavy  and  sober.  .  .  .  Waiting  for 
our  luggage  keeps  us  up  until  after  one  o'clock,  and 
when  I  go  to  bed  the  excitement  of  the  scenes  kept 
me  awake,  I  believe,  all  night.  I  do  not  think  I 
slept  at  all.     The  steamer,  the  coast  of  Ireland,  the 


376  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  40. 

light-houses,  the  English  shores,  chased  through  my 
brain,  until  I  was  obliged  to  cool  my  head  down  with 
wet  towels. 

July  14.  Monday.  The  morning  looks  dull,  but  I 
heard  a  man  under  my  window  announcing  that  it 
was  a  fine  day,  which  no  one,  unacquainted  with  this 
climate,  would  have  suspected.  Breakfasted,  and  took 
tickets  for  London.  Took  11.30  train  for  London. 
Shot  through  the  long  tunnel  which  runs  under  the 
town  of  Liverpool,  and  emerged  into  the  green  fields, 
among  the  deep  foliage,  the  hedge-rows,  the  lanes, 
the  woods  and  parks,  and  the  mild  sky  of  old  Eng- 
land. Our  journey  occupied  nine  hours,  as  we  were 
not  in  an  express  train.  The  whole  way  I  scarcely 
once,  if  ever,  took  my  eyes  off  the  exquisite  land- 
scape, or  relieved  them  a  moment  from  watching 
the  constantly  changing  and  ever- renewing  succes- 
sion of  delights.  As  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  deep, 
rich,  green  foliage  and  grass,  undulating  surfaces, 
with  occasional  ranges  of  high  hills,  and  picturesque 
breaks  in  the  distance,  hedge-rows,  quiet,  green  lanes, 
flowers  springing  spontaneously  from  all  fields  and 
from  all  places,  and  filling  the  air  with  their  fragrance, 
so  that  it  is  borne  into  your  car-window  as  you  are 
hurried  by,  —  grass  fields  and  grain  fields,  some  in 
full  ripeness  for  harvest,  and  others  gathering  and 
gathered  in,  stacks  of  hay  and  grain,  gathered  and 
thatched  over,  men,  women  and  children  in  the  fields 
raking  into  rows  the  cut  grass  and  grain,  others  load- 
ing the  wagons  of  "  harvest  home,"  and  ever  and 
anon  the  village,  the  hamlet,  the  larger  town,  the  old 
parish  church  in  the  midst  of  the  church-yard,  the 
nobleman's  or  gentleman's  park,  the  distant  spires  of 
a  cathedral,  towers  of  a  castle,  —  all,  all,  was  charac- 


1856.  ENGLISH  SCENERY.  377 

teristic  of  England.  But  how  can  one  convey  an  idea 
of  this  to  an  American  at  home  who  has  never  been 
out  of  America  ?  I  will  do  my  best.  Fancy  your- 
self in  a  nice  coach,  well  stuffed  seats,  containing  six 
persons,  with  plenty  of  room  to  stretch  yourself,  to 
lounge,  to  put  your  book,  paper,  map,  hat  and  coat, 
at  a  broad  open  window,  carried  along  at  the  rate  of 
from  thirty  to  fifty  miles  an  hour,  with  no  smoke  or 
dust  whatever,  on  a  mild  summer  day  in  which  you 
are  sensible  neither  of  heat  nor  cold,  the  sun  not  bright 
enough  to  dazzle  or  pain  the  eye,  and  a  succession  for 
two  hundred  miles  of  Mount  Auburns  and  Greenwoods 
without  their  disfiguring  monuments,  of  the  richest 
parts  of  Brookline,  of  the  Genesee  Valley,  and  of  the 
Connecticut  valleys,  with  no  bare  or  barren  or  sun- 
dried  spots.  Then  imagine  your  railroad  to  be  so 
firm  and  deeply  laid,  and  the  engines  so  well  managed, 
that  you  have  but  the  least  possible  jar,  no  sudden 
starts  and  bringings  up,  and  no  smoke  or  cinders  or 
smell  of  gas,  and  the  banks  and  sides  of  the  railroads 
turfed  over,  and  a  continued  row  of  hawthorn  hedge 
in  full  greenness  on  each  side,  without  intermission, 
for  two  hundred  miles,  except  in  the  streets  of  the 
towns.  Then  imagine  such  an  exuberant  growth  of 
spontaneous  flowers  of  all  colors  that  their  fragrance 
often  fills  your  car  as  you  pass.  To  this  add  the 
most  picturesque  and  soothing  memorials  of  an  antiq- 
uity of  eight  and  ten  centuries  with  the  life  and 
activity  of  a  prosperous  present,  a  ruin  overgrown 
with  ivy,  an  old  parish  church  with  its  church-yard 
and  ivy,  a  noble  manor  or  park,  the  overtopping 
towers  of  a  castle  or  spires  of  a  cathedral,  with  a 
chime  to  salute  your  ears  if  you  stop  at  the  station 
on  the  hour  or    half  hour,  the    country  alive  with 


378  RICHARD  HENRY  DANA.  Mt.  40. 

the  inland  navigation  of  canal  and  river  boats,  a  quiet 
trout  stream,  blooming  hedge-rows  in  all  directions, 
and  lanes  invariably  lined  with  hedges  or  the  higher 
growth  of  bushes  and  shrubs,  under  any  one  of  which 
you  feel  that  lovers  might  meet  or  part.  Then  re- 
move once  and  forever  from  your  mind  all  Yankee 
notions  of  so  much  as  one  building  or  structure  of 
wood,  and  all  pictures  of  paint,  whether  white  or 
yellow  houses,  or  green  blinds,  and  in  place  thereof 
substitute  stone  of  subdued  tints,  or  brick  of  a  dull 
umber,  or  dark  brown,  and  roofs  all  slated,  tiled  or 
thatched.  Picture  to  yourself  each  railroad  station 
with  a  broad  platform  of  tiled  brick  or  stone,  and  the 
building  of  stone  or  brick,  with  casement  windows 
and  tiled  roofs,  with  ivy  and  climbing  roses  already 
growing  over  it,  looking,  each  one  of  them,  like  a  de- 
tached part  of  a  manor-house  of  Elizabeth  or  James's 
time,  so  beautiful  that  Ruskin  objects  that  they  are 
out  of  place  and  keeping.  Imagine  every  road  cross- 
ing the  railroad  by  a  stone  bridge,  looking  like  a  Ro- 
man aqueduct.  Imagine  everything  so  toned  down, 
that  even  the  steam-whistle  is  not  disagreeably  loud. 
Then  add  the  historic  associations  of  the  names  of 
places  you  pass  —  Old  Stafford,  Bosworth,  with  its 
battle-field,  where  ended  the  War  of  the  Roses.  Dr. 
Johnson's  Litchfield,  with  its  cathedral  towers  ;  old, 
exquisite,  dreamy  Trentham,  with  its  church  and 
yard ;  Dr.  Arnold's  Rugby,  and  then  the  rapidly 
multiplying  indications  of  a  huge  metropolis,  while 
you  feel  you  are  nearing  London,  —  the  London  of 
your  childhood  and  boyhood's  dreams  —  do  all  this, 
and  then  acknowledge  that  you  have  but  an  inade- 
quate notion  of  an  American's  first  day's  journey  in 
the  land  of  his  forefathers. 


RKrURN  TO  3&SS&  ™  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

,  •   j      ™  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 


Kenewed^^-subiecc^i-mediat-caU. 


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I.D  21A-50m-8.'61 
(01795sl0)476B 


General  Library     . 
University  of  California 


VC  59463 

IX.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


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